MQS Management LLC Makes New Investment in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $570,789,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $115,605,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,799,000. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 437.5% during the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,530,000 after buying an additional 3,980,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 239.8% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,128,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,789,000 after buying an additional 2,208,081 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.36.

PPL Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of PPL traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.42. The stock had a trading volume of 449,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,786,516. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $21.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.45. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $29.89.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. PPL’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

PPL 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.