PPL (NYSE:PPL) PT Lowered to $31.00 at Morgan Stanley

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PPL. Barclays increased their target price on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded PPL from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Argus upgraded PPL from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $32.36.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $27.76 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $20.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $29.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.29.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. PPL’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in PPL by 179.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in PPL by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.