PPL (NYSE:PPL) EVP Wendy Stark Sells 5,406 Shares of Stock

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $189,804.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,614.20. This represents a 5.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.22. 8,178,375 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,073,902. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.76. PPL Corporation has a one year low of $31.56 and a one year high of $40.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.56.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. PPL had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 9.33%. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a $0.2850 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 67.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 494.5% during the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter worth $42,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in PPL by 206.7% in the second quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in PPL by 72.5% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the second quarter valued at about $119,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of PPL from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on PPL from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on PPL from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on PPL from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on PPL in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

PPL Company Profile

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is an energy holding company that owns and operates regulated electric and natural gas utilities in the United States. Its businesses deliver electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, while also operating and maintaining the infrastructure needed to support reliable energy service.

PPL’s principal subsidiaries include PPL Electric Utilities, which serves customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania; Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities, which provide electric and natural gas service in Kentucky; and Rhode Island Energy, which supplies electricity and natural gas to customers across Rhode Island.