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

Key Points

• Analysts' consensus: Fourteen analysts rate PPL at an average of "Moderate Buy" (10 buys, 3 holds, 1 strong buy) with a 12‑month average price target of $41.85, while recent targets range from $41 to $48 after several revisions.
• Recent results and guidance: Q4EPS was $0.41 (missed by $0.01) on $2.27B revenue, and PPL set FY2026 guidance of $1.90–$1.98 EPS (analysts average ~ $1.95).
• Dividend hike: PPL raised its quarterly dividend to $0.285 (from $0.27), implying a $1.14 annualized payment and a ~2.9% yield with a payout ratio near 71%.

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.8462.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PPL shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on PPL from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on PPL from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on PPL from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on PPL from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research report on Tuesday.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $38.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. PPL has a 1 year low of $33.12 and a 1 year high of $40.10. The stock has a market cap of $29.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $38.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). PPL had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 9.29%. The business had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that PPL will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. PPL's payout ratio is presently 71.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 7,411 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in PPL by 65.5% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 53,562 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,046,000 after purchasing an additional 21,198 shares during the period. Finally, Align Financial LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $361,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Company Profile

PPL Corporation is an energy company that owns and operates electric transmission and distribution infrastructure and provides related customer services. The company's core business centers on delivering electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers through regulated utility operations, maintaining grid reliability, responding to outages and managing customer billing and account services.

PPL's activities include construction and maintenance of distribution and transmission lines, meter and grid management, and programs to support energy efficiency and the interconnection of distributed resources.

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