Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in PPL by 179.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in PPL by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $27.96 on Friday. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $29.89. The company has a market cap of $20.63 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.26.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. PPL had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.45.

PPL 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.