PPL Corporation $PPL Shares Sold by Electron Capital Partners LLC

Key Points

• Electron Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in PPL Corporation by 55.8%, bringing its total shares down to approximately 1 million, which now constitutes 2.4% of its holdings.
• PPL Corporation reported a miss on earnings per share at $0.32 for the recent quarter, below analysts' estimates of $0.37, despite revenues increasing by 7.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share with a yield of 3.0%, scheduled for payment on October 1st, indicating a payout ratio of 81.34%.

Electron Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 55.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,033,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,303,126 shares during the quarter. PPL makes up approximately 2.4% of Electron Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Electron Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.14% of PPL worth $37,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Boston Partners grew its holdings in PPL by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,062,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $471,756,000 after buying an additional 3,544,282 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in PPL by 1,418.1% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,909,371 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $105,057,000 after buying an additional 2,717,726 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $70,063,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in PPL in the 1st quarter valued at $60,020,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in PPL by 42.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,779,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $172,575,000 after buying an additional 1,434,778 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Trading Down 0.8%

PPL stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $35.67. 4,530,748 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,609,828. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $26.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.14. PPL Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.22 and a 12-month high of $37.38.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. PPL's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. Research analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.34%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total transaction of $77,636.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

PPL Company Profile

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.