PPL (NYSE:PPL) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• PPL shares rose above their 200-day moving average of $36.07, reaching $36.21 during trading and closing near $36.16 on heavy volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $40.06; recent coverage included buy ratings from HSBC and Truist Financial.
• PPL pays a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, equivalent to a 3.2% yield, while its latest quarterly results slightly missed estimates for both earnings and revenue.

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $36.07 and traded as high as $36.21. PPL shares last traded at $36.1630, with a volume of 8,969,118 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PPL. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of PPL from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. HSBC began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank began coverage on PPL in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on PPL in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $41.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.06.

PPL Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.56.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.01). PPL had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 13.47%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. PPL's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were issued a $0.2850 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. PPL's payout ratio is presently 67.46%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total transaction of $189,804.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,220 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,614.20. This represents a 5.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in PPL by 494.5% in the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 862 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of PPL by 206.7% during the second quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,291 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 9,760.0% during the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,972 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,952 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

About PPL

PPL Corporation NYSE: PPL is an energy and utility holding company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company delivers electricity and natural gas, operates electric distribution and transmission systems, and provides related energy services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

PPL's principal businesses include PPL Electric Utilities in Pennsylvania, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities in Kentucky, and Rhode Island Energy in Rhode Island.

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