Valley National Advisers Inc. Sells 969 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Valley National Advisers Inc. reduced its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 969 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in PPL during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in PPL by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in PPL during the first quarter valued at $42,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PPL traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.17. The stock had a trading volume of 3,614,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,948,525. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $31.45. The firm has a market cap of $22.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on PPL shares. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.64.

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.