PPL (NYSE:PPL) PT Raised to $34.00

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Barclays from $30.00 to $34.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.94% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.22.

PPL Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.71 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.11. PPL has a 1 year low of $23.36 and a 1 year high of $33.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.08 and a 200-day moving average of $29.66.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The firm 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%. PPL’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Equities analysts predict that PPL will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 25.3% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 91.3% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its position in PPL by 71.3% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in PPL by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,217,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,105,000 after buying an additional 755,689 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in PPL by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,808,000 after buying an additional 104,662 shares in the last quarter. 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.