PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Shares Acquired by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 2.6%, now owning approximately 2.43 million shares valued at $87.87 million.
• PPL Corporation reported $0.32 EPS in its latest financial results, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.37, yet its revenue rose by 7.7% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors hold approximately 76.99% of PPL's stock, indicating significant investor confidence in the company.

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,433,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 60,572 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.33% of PPL worth $87,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norinchukin Bank The grew its holdings in PPL by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 12,998 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in PPL by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,953 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in PPL by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PPL. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PPL Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.19 on Thursday, reaching $36.34. The company had a trading volume of 4,320,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,052,047. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $34.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.59. PPL Corporation has a 52-week low of $29.97 and a 52-week high of $36.99. The firm has a market cap of $26.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.64.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is 81.34%.

About PPL

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.