Korea Investment CORP Cuts Stock Holdings in PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP has reduced its stake in PPL Corporation by 50% in the first quarter, now holding 280,885 shares worth approximately $10.14 million.
• PPL recently reported a Q2 earnings miss, with earnings per share of $0.32 compared to analysts' expectations of $0.37, despite a revenue increase of 7.7% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors collectively own 76.99% of PPL stock, with several institutions making significant changes to their positions during the first quarter.

Korea Investment CORP lowered its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 280,885 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 281,003 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in PPL were worth $10,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in PPL by 1.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,938,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,008,861,000 after purchasing an additional 472,979 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of PPL by 37.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,062,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $471,756,000 after acquiring an additional 3,544,282 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of PPL by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,672,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $411,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,371,000 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of PPL by 0.3% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,598,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $310,503,000 after acquiring an additional 28,589 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 1.4% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 7,998,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $288,815,000 after acquiring an additional 109,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.70.

PPL Trading Up 0.3%

PPL stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.63. The company had a trading volume of 3,628,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,384,583. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64. PPL Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.22 and a 52-week high of $37.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.