PPL (NYSE:PPL) Now Covered by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) in a report issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 12.56% from the company’s previous close.

PPL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.40.

PPL Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE PPL opened at $32.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.77. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $23.99 and a fifty-two week high of $33.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

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

Institutional Trading of PPL

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leelyn Smith LLC raised its position in PPL by 0.4% during the second quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 15.7% in the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.4% during the second quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in PPL by 3.1% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in PPL by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 26,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.