PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Insider Sells $314,680.35 in Stock

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $35.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $25.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.79. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.35 and a one year high of $35.14. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PPL. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in PPL by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after buying an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in PPL by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in PPL by 12.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in PPL by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $566,275,000 after buying an additional 201,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in PPL by 0.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after buying an additional 55,594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.