CWM LLC decreased its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 28.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,822 shares during the quarter. CWM LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the first quarter valued at about $117,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in PPL by 18.3% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 19,850 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 3,068 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 21.4% during the first quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,567 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 3,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FDx Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the first quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.
PPL Stock Performance
Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.59. 3,422,718 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,391,869. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $34.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.45. PPL Corporation has a 52 week low of $29.25 and a 52 week high of $36.99.
PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.
PPL Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's payout ratio is currently 80.74%.
Insider Transactions at PPL
In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently commented on PPL shares. Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.
Read Our Latest Research Report on PPL
About PPL
(
Free Report)
PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.6 million customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Kentucky Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Rhode Island Regulated. The company delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Rhode Island; delivers natural gas to customers in Kentucky and Rhode Island; and generates electricity from power plants in Kentucky.
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