Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC Reduces Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC reduced its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 546,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 32,020 shares during the period. PPL accounts for 1.6% of Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $18,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in PPL by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 26,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $869,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $24.93 and a 12-month high of $33.38.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. 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 3.12%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. Bank of America upped their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

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.