Voleon Capital Management LP Invests $346,000 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 PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 9,575 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.0% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 16.0% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.5% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 12,998 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in PPL by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,953 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, WealthTrust Axiom LLC boosted its position in PPL by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 8,579 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PPL. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

PPL Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:PPL traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.17. The company had a trading volume of 2,841,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,876,618. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $36.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.17. The company has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.49. PPL Corporation has a one year low of $31.22 and a one year high of $37.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during 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 business's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.