PPL Corporation $PPL Stock: VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Lowers Position

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems reduced its PPL position by 30.3% in the third quarter, selling 40,100 shares and retaining 92,300 shares valued at approximately $3.04 million. Institutional investors collectively own 76.99% of PPL.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $40.06, despite several firms lowering targets or initiating more cautious coverage.
• PPL shares opened at $36.16, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.33—slightly below estimates—and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.285, equivalent to a 3.2% annualized yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al decreased its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 92,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 40,100 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings in PPL were worth $3,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at about $187,326,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 7.1% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,157,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $114,787,000 after buying an additional 208,820 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in PPL by 23.7% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,056,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,762,000 after buying an additional 393,748 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in PPL by 9.3% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,837,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,786,000 after buying an additional 157,005 shares during the period. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PPL in the second quarter worth about $54,611,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PPL. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PPL from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $41.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of PPL from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of PPL from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $189,804.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99,220 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,614.20. This represents a 5.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPL Stock Up 1.4%

PPL stock opened at $36.16 on Tuesday. PPL Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.56 and a fifty-two week high of $40.10. The business's 50-day moving average is $34.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $27.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.56.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. PPL had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 9.33%. PPL's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a $0.2850 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio is 67.46%.

PPL Company Profile

PPL Corporation NYSE: PPL is an energy and utility holding company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company delivers electricity and natural gas, operates electric distribution and transmission systems, and provides related energy services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

PPL's principal businesses include PPL Electric Utilities in Pennsylvania, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities in Kentucky, and Rhode Island Energy in Rhode Island.

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