Golden State Equity Partners Has $277,000 Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Golden State Equity Partners grew its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 107.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,420 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in PPL were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of PPL by 139.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 5,759.3% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PPL. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,794 shares of company stock valued at $661,338 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Stock Up 0.6 %

PPL opened at $33.82 on Tuesday. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $24.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.93 and a 200-day moving average of $32.27.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.96%.

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.