Yaupon Capital Management LP Has $35.46 Million Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Yaupon Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,071,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 177,845 shares during the period. PPL comprises 1.9% of Yaupon Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Yaupon Capital Management LP’s holdings in PPL were worth $35,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 1.7% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC grew its position in PPL by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,209,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY increased its holdings in PPL by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 14,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its position in PPL by 15.7% in the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in PPL by 3.4% in the second quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $33.59 on Friday. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average is $33.12 and its 200-day moving average is $30.99. The company has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.