Moors & Cabot Inc. Sells 1,083 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Moors & Cabot Inc. trimmed its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,083 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $32.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $22.20 and a 1-year high of $32.82.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.