PPL (NYSE:PPL) Given New $35.00 Price Target at Bank of America

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price target increased by Bank of America from $34.00 to $35.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on PPL. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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 assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.50.

PPL Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PPL traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $32.23. The stock had a trading volume of 306,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,834,141. The company has a market cap of $23.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.81. PPL has a 52 week low of $24.93 and a 52 week high of $33.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.33 and a 200 day moving average of $30.10.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PPL will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 25.3% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in PPL by 91.3% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after buying an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 71.3% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after buying an additional 1,792,200 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,808,000 after buying an additional 104,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of PPL by 8.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,571,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,098,000 after acquiring an additional 202,296 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About PPL

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.