PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

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 firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.70.

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

PPL Stock Up 0.0%

PPL stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $36.59. The company had a trading volume of 3,422,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,391,869. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.42 and a 200 day moving average of $34.45. PPL has a 1 year low of $29.25 and a 1 year high of $36.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $27.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.64.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. PPL's payout ratio is currently 80.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PPL

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.