MBB Public Markets I LLC Takes $328,000 Position in PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired 9,088 shares of PPL Corporation, valued at approximately $328,000, in the first quarter.
• Analysts have varied opinions on PPL's stock, with Barclays upgrading it to a strong-buy rating while Wall Street Zen downgraded it to sell.
• PPL announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, with a 3.1% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 81.34%.

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,062,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $471,756,000 after buying an additional 3,544,282 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in PPL by 1,418.1% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,909,371 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $105,057,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717,726 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $70,063,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter valued at about $60,020,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,779,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $172,575,000 after buying an additional 1,434,778 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

PPL Trading Up 0.5%

PPL stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $36.17. The stock had a trading volume of 2,841,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,547,422. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.17. PPL Corporation has a 52 week low of $31.22 and a 52 week high of $37.38. The stock has a market cap of $26.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 11.22%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. Analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. 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 is currently 81.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on 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 owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.22% of the stock is 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.