LPL Financial LLC Grows Stock Position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 8.8%, now owning approximately 1.4 million shares worth $51.3 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings on PPL, with Barclays shifting from "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating, and the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average target price of $36.70.
• PPL Corporation recently reported earnings per share of $0.32 for the last quarter, missing estimates, but revenue grew by 7.7% year-over-year, reaching $2.03 billion.

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,420,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 115,038 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.19% of PPL worth $51,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in PPL by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 2,796 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 60,366 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,959,000 after acquiring an additional 11,006 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,038 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $572,300,000 after acquiring an additional 500,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $331,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PPL. Barclays upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim increased their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

PPL Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $35.67 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $34.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.81. PPL Corporation has a 1-year low of $29.60 and a 1-year high of $36.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.42, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 11.49%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. PPL's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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