Picton Mahoney Asset Management Purchases 118,012 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Key Points

• Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in PPL Corporation by 27.6%, acquiring an additional 118,012 shares, bringing its total holdings to 546,309 shares, valued at approximately $19.7 million.
• PPL Corporation reported earnings of $0.60 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.07, alongside an increase in revenue to $2.5 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, with a current dividend yield of 3.05% and a payout ratio of 80.74%.

Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 27.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 546,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 118,012 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management owned 0.07% of PPL worth $19,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 141.0% in the 1st 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. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 94.3% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in PPL by 1,057.6% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 984 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of PPL stock opened at $35.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64. PPL Corporation has a 1 year low of $29.35 and a 1 year high of $36.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.54.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 11.49%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for 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. PPL's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

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. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.