Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,433 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after buying an additional 1,189,339 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in PPL by 91.3% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,820 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 21.8% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,217,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,105,000 after purchasing an additional 755,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of PPL by 3.4% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,808,000 after purchasing an additional 104,662 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PPL. Bank of America raised their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.22.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $32.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $23.36 and a 1-year high of $33.38. The company has a market capitalization of $24.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.12 and a 200-day moving average of $29.70.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. 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.