Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 85.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 134,857 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in PPL by 179.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in PPL by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in PPL by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on 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 objective on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America raised their target price on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.36.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $28.17 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.28. The firm has a market cap of $20.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.35, a PEG ratio of 2.40 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. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $29.89.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.