PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Holdings Lifted by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in PPL were worth $833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in PPL by 91.3% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after buying an additional 2,778,820 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its position in PPL by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after buying an additional 1,792,200 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,808,000 after buying an additional 104,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in PPL by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,571,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,098,000 after purchasing an additional 202,296 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $33.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $33.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.50 and a 200-day moving average of $30.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 91.97%.

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.