Barclays Lowers PPL (NYSE:PPL) Price Target to $33.00

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at Barclays from $34.00 to $33.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 1.60% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on PPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

PPL Stock Up 0.9 %

PPL stock opened at $33.54 on Wednesday. PPL has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $35.15. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of PPL by 5.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720,941 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of PPL by 12.0% during 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in PPL by 1.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings 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 valued at $215,430,000 after buying an additional 55,594 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.