PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by WealthTrust Axiom LLC

WealthTrust Axiom LLC lifted its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in PPL by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 20,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Toews Corp ADV purchased a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $756,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $614,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in PPL by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 345,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,145,000 after buying an additional 60,577 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in PPL by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 97,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,295,000 after buying an additional 3,788 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. TheStreet downgraded shares of PPL from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Argus raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

PPL Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $27.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.73. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $22.20 and a 1-year high of $29.03.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. PPL had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 8.45%. PPL’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.00%.

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.