Raymond James Financial Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in PPL Corporation by 1.5%, owning approximately 0.61% of the company worth $161.5 million after selling 70,258 shares.
• Positive sentiment is reflected among analysts, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70 for PPL shares.
• PPL Corporation recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.32 per share, missing the consensus estimate, but revenue increased by 7.7% year-over-year, totaling $2.03 billion.

Raymond James Financial Inc. cut its holdings in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,473,175 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 70,258 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.61% of PPL worth $161,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in PPL by 141.0% during 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. raised 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. HM Payson & Co. raised 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the first quarter worth about $45,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the business's 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. 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, PPL currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

PPL Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.1740 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $36.8940. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,406,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,638,824. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64. PPL Corporation has a one year low of $31.22 and a one year high of $37.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $35.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

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). The firm 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.34%.

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.