6,565 Shares in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Bought by RKL Wealth Management LLC

RKL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 6,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in PPL by 91.3% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in PPL by 71.3% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in PPL by 3.4% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,808,000 after purchasing an additional 104,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 202,296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 2.2 %

PPL stock opened at $33.06 on Friday. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.93 and a fifty-two week high of $33.38. The stock has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 29.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PPL. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

PPL Company 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.