PPL Corporation, a utility holding company, delivers electricity and natural gas in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company operates through two segments: Kentucky Regulated and Pennsylvania Regulated. It serves approximately 429,000 electric and 333,000 natural gas customers in Louisville and adjacent areas in Kentucky; 538,000 electric customers in central, southeastern, and western Kentucky; and 28,000 electric customers in five counties in southwestern Virginia. The company also provides electric services to approximately 1.4 million customers in Pennsylvania; and generates electricity from coal, gas, hydro, and solar sources in Kentucky; and sells wholesale electricity to two municipalities in Kentucky. PPL Corporation was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
PPL Trading Up 0.3 %
PPL Stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $30.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,130,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,028,761. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 0.75. PPL has a 12-month low of $24.98 and a 12-month high of $30.99. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $27.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.19.
PPL Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 21st were given a $0.225 dividend. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 17th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.84%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
PPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on PPL in a research note on Monday, May 30th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 16th. Bank of America raised shares of PPL from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on PPL to $32.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 9th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.00.
Insider Buying and Selling at PPL
In other news, CEO Vincent Sorgi sold 27,553 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $799,037.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,232,398. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Stephanie R. Raymond sold 3,374 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $102,738.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,891.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Vincent Sorgi sold 27,553 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $799,037.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,462 shares in the company, valued at $3,232,398. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,004 shares of company stock valued at $1,742,702. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.