Gotham Asset Management LLC Grows Position in PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 27.6%, owning approximately 487,841 shares worth $17.6 million.
• PPL recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.32, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37, but showed a revenue increase of 7.7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, yielding 3.0%, with a payout ratio of 81.34%.

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 27.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 487,841 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 105,633 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.07% of PPL worth $17,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,938,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,008,861,000 after purchasing an additional 472,979 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 37.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,062,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $471,756,000 after purchasing an additional 3,544,282 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,598,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $310,503,000 after purchasing an additional 28,589 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.4% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 7,998,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $288,815,000 after purchasing an additional 109,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.9% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,881,695 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $284,608,000 after purchasing an additional 297,999 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $35.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,127,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,564,700. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.15. The company has a market cap of $26.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. PPL Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.22 and a 1 year high of $37.38.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 11.22%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total transaction of $77,636.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen cut PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.