Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Acquires 24,269 Shares of PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

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Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 239.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,269 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in PPL were worth $1,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of PPL by 141.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of PPL by 94.3% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the first quarter worth about $32,000. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in shares of PPL by 1,057.6% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 984 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the first quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total transaction of $77,636.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on PPL. Wall Street Zen upgraded PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim increased their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.70.

PPL Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE PPL traded up $0.1740 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $36.8940. 3,406,655 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,437,267. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company's 50 day moving average price is $35.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.98. PPL Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.22 and a 12 month high of $37.38.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 11.22%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.34%.

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.