Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Outlook for PPL Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has revised PPL Corporation's Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimate down to $0.41, from a previous estimate of $0.42, indicating a cautious outlook for the utilities provider.
• PPL reported $0.32 EPS for its last quarter, falling short of consensus estimates by $0.05, despite revenues exceeding expectations at $2.03 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 3.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 81.34%.

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2026 EPS estimates for shares of PPL in a research note issued on Wednesday, September 10th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the utilities provider will earn $0.41 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.42. The consensus estimate for PPL's current full-year earnings is $1.83 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for PPL's Q3 2026 earnings at $0.51 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.67.

PPL Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of PPL traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,332,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,520,082. PPL has a 1-year low of $31.22 and a 1-year high of $37.38. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $36.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.18. The company has a market cap of $26.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of PPL by 141.0% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of PPL by 94.3% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 8,350.0% in the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 5,352.9% in the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 927 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 is accessible through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio is 81.34%.

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.