PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Insider Sells $314,680.35 in Stock

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

PPL Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $35.00 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $25.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.35 and a one year high of $35.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.79.

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 business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 91.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 28,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 11,199 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 13,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter valued at about $741,000. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 44,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 6,331 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

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.