PPL (NYSE:PPL) Given New $33.00 Price Target at Barclays

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Barclays from $34.00 to $33.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 0.77% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

PPL Stock Up 0.3 %

PPL opened at $32.75 on Wednesday. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.99. The company has a market capitalization of $24.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PPL

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after acquiring an additional 51,366 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in PPL by 2.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,935,000 after purchasing an additional 96,491 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the third quarter worth $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at $916,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.