PPL (NYSE:PPL) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $38.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $33.75.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $32.46 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $30.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.89. 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 has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $32.82. The stock has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $570,789,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $115,605,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,799,000. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 437.5% during the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,530,000 after purchasing an additional 3,980,626 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 91.3% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.