National Bank of Canada FI Buys 166,792 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 37.1% during the 1st quarter, owning 0.08% of the company valued at approximately $22.27 million.
• PPL Corporation reported a Q2 EPS of $0.32, which was below the consensus estimate of $0.37, although revenue was up 7.7% year-over-year at $2.03 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, providing an annualized yield of 3.0%, with a payout ratio of 81.34%.

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 37.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 616,629 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 166,792 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.08% of PPL worth $22,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in PPL by 94.3% in 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 during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the first quarter worth $32,000. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in PPL by 1,057.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the first quarter worth $45,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

PPL Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE PPL traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $37.12. 3,056,670 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,588,963. PPL Corporation has a 12-month low of $30.76 and a 12-month high of $37.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.80. The firm has a market cap of $27.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.