PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Acquired by Profund Advisors LLC

Profund Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 48.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,228 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in PPL in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.75.

PPL Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.84 on Tuesday. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $32.92. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.95. The company has a market capitalization of $24.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. 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.