PPL (NYSE:PPL) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $35.15 and last traded at $34.99, with a volume of 477457 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

PPL Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $25.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.75.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. As a group, research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at about $345,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 81,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,712,000 after buying an additional 13,297 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 3,322.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 212,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,421,000 after acquiring an additional 206,216 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 5,390.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 563,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,625,000 after acquiring an additional 552,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 35.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 12,609 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.