PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Receives $36.70 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Key Points

• PPL Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from analysts, including seven buy ratings and two strong buy ratings.
• The average one-year target price for PPL stock is $36.70 according to brokerages, with the stock currently trading around $36.53.
• PPL's latest quarterly earnings report indicated earnings per share of $0.32, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $0.37, despite a revenue increase of 7.7% year-over-year.

Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.70.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL traded up $0.1740 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $36.8940. 3,406,655 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,438,064. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.97. PPL has a 52-week low of $31.22 and a 52-week high of $37.38. The company has a market cap of $27.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.64.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 11.22%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPL will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. PPL's payout ratio is 81.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PPL. Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in PPL by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 3.0% in the 1st 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 period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in PPL by 16.0% in the 1st 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 period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,984 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 2.5% in the 1st 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% 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.