Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 6,454 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,454 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of PPL by 139.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of PPL by 5,759.3% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter worth about $75,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.09.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $31.98 on Wednesday. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $23.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.78.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Research 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 Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.96%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.