PPL (NYSE:PPL) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $33.81 and last traded at $33.81, with a volume of 1000 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL Trading Down 0.0 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $24.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. PPL’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.