Voleon Capital Management LP Acquires New Position in PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP acquired 9,575 shares of PPL Corporation, valued at approximately $346,000, as part of its investment strategy in the utilities sector during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Pinnacle Bancorp and Ancora Advisors, significantly increased their stakes in PPL during the same period, indicating growing confidence in the company.
• PPL Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, yielding 3.0%, with a payout ratio of 81.34%, demonstrating its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,575 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in PPL by 141.0% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 94.3% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 8,350.0% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in PPL by 5,352.9% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 927 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL traded down $0.04 on Monday, reaching $36.13. The stock had a trading volume of 449,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,532,646. PPL Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.22 and a 12-month high of $37.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business's 50-day moving average price is $36.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.17. The company has a market cap of $26.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65.

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). The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.99 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. PPL's payout ratio is currently 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 dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.