PPL (NYSE:PPL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $35.00 to $38.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.68% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on PPL. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.20.

PPL Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of PPL stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $34.97. 560,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,442,155. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.16. PPL has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Research analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Boston Partners boosted its position in PPL by 8,266.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,060,000 after purchasing an additional 9,404,382 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,509,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $891,532,000 after acquiring an additional 3,380,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.