PPL (NYSE:PPL) Now Covered by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Key Points

• Evercore ISI began coverage of PPL, issuing an "outperform" rating, while the consensus rating for the stock stands at "Buy" with an average price target of $37.40.
• PPL reported earnings of $0.32 EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates, but experienced a 7.7% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• Insider trading activity included COO David J. Bonenberger selling 2,165 shares of PPL, reflecting a 4.54% decrease in his position.

Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on PPL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of PPL in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $37.40.

PPL Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $37.47 on Monday. PPL has a 1-year low of $31.22 and a 1-year high of $37.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $27.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of PPL stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PPL

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in PPL by 1.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,938,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,008,861,000 after acquiring an additional 472,979 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in PPL by 37.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,062,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $471,756,000 after buying an additional 3,544,282 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of PPL by 0.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,598,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $310,503,000 after buying an additional 28,589 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 7,998,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $288,815,000 after acquiring an additional 109,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in PPL by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,881,695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $284,608,000 after purchasing an additional 297,999 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

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.

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