PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Stock Position Decreased by Royal Fund Management LLC

Royal Fund Management LLC cut its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,333 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com raised PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.64.

PPL Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of PPL traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.17. 3,614,467 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,948,525. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $31.45. The company has a market cap of $23.00 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.88.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.