Tadd J. Henninger Sells 6,639 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Stock

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value 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. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

PPL Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of PPL opened at $32.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $33.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.23. The stock has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. PPL’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.96%.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $284,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 16.8% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.2% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,514,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,877,000 after buying an additional 74,738 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS bought a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter valued at about $657,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in PPL during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.09.

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.