Stifel Financial Corp Raises Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 733,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 62,172 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.10% of PPL worth $23,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,981,760,000 after purchasing an additional 750,033 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in PPL by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,195,484,000 after buying an additional 2,070,499 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in PPL by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $891,532,000 after buying an additional 3,380,745 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $572,300,000 after acquiring an additional 500,058 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 8,266.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $309,060,000 after acquiring an additional 9,404,382 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.58. 1,503,604 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,922,026. The business's 50-day moving average price is $35.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $27.11 and a 1-year high of $36.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL's payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on PPL. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays raised their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.70.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

PPL Company Profile

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.