Royal Fund Management LLC Acquires 29,132 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Royal Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 87.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,132 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 3,393 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in PPL by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 150,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,971,000 after purchasing an additional 9,702 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 42.2% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 159,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,273,000 after purchasing an additional 47,317 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in PPL by 66.6% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.80.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL traded up $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.21. 79,603 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,859,863. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.36 and a fifty-two week high of $33.38. The company has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.20, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.39.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.