79,357 Shares in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has acquired approximately $2.87 million in a new stake by purchasing 79,357 shares of PPL Corporation in the first quarter.
• PPL Corporation reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.32, which was below the consensus estimate of $0.37, despite a 7.7% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, translating to a dividend yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 80.74%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 79,357 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,866,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norinchukin Bank The increased its stake in PPL by 1.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of PPL by 16.0% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 2.5% during the first 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 position in shares of PPL by 5.0% during the first 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 increased its position in shares of PPL by 3.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

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 value 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 approximately $1,633,781.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

PPL Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.19 on Thursday, hitting $36.34. 187,365 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,392,947. 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 one year low of $29.97 and a one year high of $36.99. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $34.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.64.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PPL shares. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average 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.