Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. Buys 85,000 Shares of PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 32.1% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 350,000 shares valued at about $12.6 million.
• PPL's recent quarterly earnings showed a miss on EPS estimates, reporting $0.32 against the expected $0.37, but a 7.7% increase in year-over-year revenue to $2.03 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.0%, scheduled for payment on October 1st.

Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 32.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 350,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 85,000 shares during the quarter. PPL makes up approximately 1.3% of Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in PPL were worth $12,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 17.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 79,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,824,000 after buying an additional 11,782 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 250,564 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 45.0% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 30,603 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,105,000 after buying an additional 9,503 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 13.7% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 9,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the first quarter valued at approximately $992,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE PPL traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.23. 5,166,997 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,612,329. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.59. PPL Corporation has a 52 week low of $31.22 and a 52 week high of $37.38. The company has a market cap of $26.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.03, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.09.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. PPL's payout ratio is 81.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.70.

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.