Yaupon Capital Management LP Has $23.25 Million Stock Holdings in PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• Yaupon Capital Management LP has reduced its stake in PPL Corporation by 17.8%, holding 643,928 shares after selling 139,188 shares this quarter.
• PPL Corporation has recently seen mixed analyst ratings, with Barclays upgrading the stock to "strong-buy" while Wall Street Zen downgraded it from "hold" to "sell."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, yielding 3.1%, to be paid on October 1st to shareholders recorded by September 10th.

Yaupon Capital Management LP cut its holdings in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 17.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 643,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 139,188 shares during the quarter. PPL comprises about 1.2% of Yaupon Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Yaupon Capital Management LP owned 0.09% of PPL worth $23,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in PPL by 17.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 79,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,824,000 after acquiring an additional 11,782 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in PPL by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,975,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $107,438,000 after buying an additional 250,564 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in PPL by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 30,603 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 9,503 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in PPL by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 9,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in PPL during the 1st quarter worth about $992,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:PPL traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.17. The stock had a trading volume of 2,841,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,876,618. The business's 50 day moving average is $36.02 and its 200 day moving average is $35.17. PPL Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.22 and a fifty-two week high of $37.38. The stock has a market cap of $26.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a PEG 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 (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 11.22%.The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Barclays upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.70.

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.