Cetera Investment Advisers Lowers Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Cetera Investment Advisers decreased its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 6.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,628 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in PPL were worth $5,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Leelyn Smith LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in PPL by 15.7% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 3.4% during the second quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 0.5% in the second quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 77,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,134,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 4.8% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 10,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

PPL Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $32.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $23.71 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.82. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $23.34 and a 52-week high of $33.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.20%. PPL’s payout ratio is 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.