New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Has $5.98 Million Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 33,416.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 183,790 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $5,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.27.

PPL Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $35.03 on Friday. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.93 and a 12 month high of $35.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.18 and a 200-day moving average of $33.26.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. On average, equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.