7,247 Shares in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Bought by Longboard Asset Management LP

Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 5,759.3% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $33.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.93 and its 200 day moving average is $32.27. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.35 and a 52 week high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

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.