Xcel Wealth Management LLC Sells 9,500 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Xcel Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 20.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,644 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,500 shares during the quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $1,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 141.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in PPL by 121.4% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on PPL shares. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim increased their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on PPL from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

PPL Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $33.76. 2,411,936 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,981,340. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $34.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.15. PPL Corporation has a 1-year low of $27.24 and a 1-year high of $36.70. The company has a market cap of $24.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 11.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's payout ratio is 80.74%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,485 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.