Strs Ohio Purchases New Stake in PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new stake in PPL Corporation by purchasing 86,423 shares valued at approximately $3.12 million during the 1st quarter.
• Several other institutional investors, including Boston Partners and American Century Companies Inc., have significantly increased their holdings in PPL, indicating a growing interest in the company.
• PPL recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.0%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 10th.

Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 86,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,121,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,062,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $471,756,000 after buying an additional 3,544,282 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in PPL by 1,418.1% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,909,371 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $105,057,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717,726 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in PPL in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $60,020,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in PPL by 42.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,779,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $172,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter valued at $29,617,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity 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. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PPL. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays upgraded 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.67.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $35.99 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $31.22 and a fifty-two week high of $37.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.18. The firm has a market cap of $26.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. PPL's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company 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 yield of 3.0%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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