Huntington National Bank Buys 1,768 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in PPL were worth $833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in PPL by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the first quarter valued at approximately $636,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 44,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 13,918 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in PPL by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 110,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the first quarter worth about $31,713,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $33.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.50 and a 200 day moving average of $30.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $33.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.97%.

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.