Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP Makes New Investment in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 275,254 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,939,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP raised its holdings in PPL by 56.9% in the first quarter. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP now owns 39,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 14,300 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 30,042 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,085,000 after buying an additional 1,535 shares in the last quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,519 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of PPL by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 56,964 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,057,000 after acquiring an additional 2,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of PPL by 514.8% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 47,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,714,000 after purchasing an additional 39,750 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL opened at $36.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50-day moving average price is $34.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.68. PPL Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.62 and a 1 year high of $36.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.74%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $61,809.66. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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. Guggenheim lifted their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.

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