TIAA Trust National Association Grows Stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Key Points

• TIAA Trust National Association increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 129.2% in the 1st quarter, owning 280,308 shares worth approximately $10.1 million.
• PPL's stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70, while Morgan Stanley downgraded its target price from $38.00 to $37.00.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss with $0.32 per share, missing analysts' expectations of $0.37, but its revenue increased by 7.7% year-over-year.

TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 129.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 280,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 157,997 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association's holdings in PPL were worth $10,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in PPL by 141.0% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in PPL by 94.3% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PPL in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in PPL by 1,057.6% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 984 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PPL. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 473,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,395,294. PPL Corporation has a 12-month low of $29.97 and a 12-month high of $36.99. The company has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.59. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $34.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.67.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's payout ratio is 81.34%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total transaction of $77,636.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPL Company 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.