PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by Plan Group Financial LLC

Key Points

• Plan Group Financial LLC increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 45.0% during the 1st quarter, owning 43,418 shares valued at approximately $1.57 million after purchasing an additional 13,478 shares.
• PPL Corporation reported earnings of $0.32 per share for the most recent quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.37 per share, despite a revenue increase of 7.7% year-over-year to $2.03 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.0% with a payout ratio of 81.34%.

Plan Group Financial LLC lifted its position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 45.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,418 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 13,478 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $1,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 141.0% in 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 during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PPL during the first quarter valued at $32,000. HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in PPL by 1,057.6% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 984 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in PPL during the first quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PPL. Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.70.

PPL Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE PPL traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $36.34. 4,320,684 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,052,047. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $26.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.64. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $34.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.68. PPL Corporation has a 12-month low of $29.97 and a 12-month high of $36.99.

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). PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a $0.2725 dividend. 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 3.0%. PPL's payout ratio is presently 81.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PPL 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.