Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 147,936 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 8.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,625,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 147,936 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.22% of PPL worth $44,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $570,789,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,952,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,616,000 after acquiring an additional 340,686 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its position in PPL by 437.5% during the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,530,000 after acquiring an additional 3,980,626 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in PPL by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $115,605,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.75.

PPL Stock Up 2.1 %

PPL opened at $32.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.88. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $32.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

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.