27,687 Shares in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Purchased by Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 27,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $916,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 8.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,719,000 after buying an additional 39,513 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,935,000 after acquiring an additional 96,491 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,067,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,153,000 after purchasing an additional 188,160 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 67,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 15,761 shares during the period. Finally, Sagefield Capital LP lifted its stake in PPL by 70.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 138,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,839,000 after purchasing an additional 57,569 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $34.45 on Friday. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.65. The firm has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

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. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 91.96%.

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.