PPL's (PPL) "Buy (B)" Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• PPL's stock has retained a "Buy (B)" rating from Weiss Ratings, despite mixed reviews from other analysts, including a downgrade from Wall Street Zen and upgrades from Barclays.
• The company's most recent quarterly earnings showed a revenue increase of 7.7% year-over-year, although earnings per share fell short of estimates, reporting $0.32 against a forecast of $0.37.
• PPL has set its fiscal year 2025 guidance with an anticipated earnings per share range of $1.750 to $1.870, and the current consensus price target is $37.40.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reaffirmed by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

PPL has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.40.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $37.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $27.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. PPL has a 12 month low of $31.22 and a 12 month high of $37.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The business's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Old Port Advisors grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 53.0% during the third quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 31,948 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 11,063 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 15.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 26,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 3,629 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 11.8% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,590 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 1,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.8% during the second quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 249,204 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,446,000 after buying an additional 9,118 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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