PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $36.70 and last traded at $35.97, with a volume of 405678 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.39.
The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. PPL's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis.
PPL Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. PPL's payout ratio is currently 90.08%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PPL shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com downgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.90.
View Our Latest Report on PPL
Insider Buying and Selling
In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of PPL
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in 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. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in PPL by 94.3% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.
PPL Stock Performance
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $35.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.85.
About PPL
(
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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.
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