Hudock Inc. Has $800,000 Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Hudock Inc. lessened its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,775 shares during the period. Hudock Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its position in shares of PPL by 4.8% in the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 46,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of PPL by 5,390.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 563,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,625,000 after purchasing an additional 552,760 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in PPL in the third quarter worth $4,101,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in PPL by 23.6% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 63,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 12,064 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 3,322.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 212,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,421,000 after buying an additional 206,216 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.40.

PPL Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE PPL traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.86. The stock had a trading volume of 195,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,791,801. The firm has a market cap of $24.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.10 and a fifty-two week high of $33.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.77.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. PPL’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.35%.

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.