Federated Hermes Inc. Has $288.82 Million Stock Position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 1.4% with an additional purchase of 109,160 shares, bringing its total ownership to 7,998,199 shares valued at approximately $288.8 million.
• PPL recently reported earnings of $0.60 per share for its latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.53, alongside a revenue increase of 8.7% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.05% and a payout ratio of 80.74%.

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,998,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 109,160 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 1.08% of PPL worth $288,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 141.0% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 94.3% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in PPL by 1,057.6% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 984 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total transaction of $77,636.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.62. The company had a trading volume of 3,071,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,403,594. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. PPL Corporation has a 52 week low of $29.97 and a 52 week high of $36.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.55 and a 200-day moving average of $34.59. The firm has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.64.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 11.49%. PPL's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.74%.

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.