PPL (NYSE:PPL) Price Target Lowered to $38.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price objective lowered by Jefferies Financial Group from $39.00 to $38.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.09.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $32.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $35.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.12 and a 200-day moving average of $31.23.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 91.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PPL

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.