NewEdge Advisors LLC Purchases 9,614 Shares of PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 22.3%, holding a total of 52,822 shares valued at approximately $1.9 million.
• Analysts' ratings for PPL range from a "strong buy" from Barclays to a "sell" from Wall Street Zen, with an average price target of $36.70.
• PPL recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, with a total annualized dividend yield of 3.0%.

NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,822 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,614 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $1,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 79,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,824,000 after acquiring an additional 11,782 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 9.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,975,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $107,438,000 after acquiring an additional 250,564 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in PPL by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 30,603 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 9,503 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in PPL by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 9,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in PPL during the 1st quarter valued at $992,000. 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 PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.67.

PPL Stock Up 0.9%

PPL stock traded up $0.32 on Wednesday, reaching $35.81. 279,668 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,514,980. PPL Corporation has a one year low of $31.22 and a one year high of $37.38. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $36.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.18. The company has a market cap of $26.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.65.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. PPL's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.34%.

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.