PPL (NYSE:PPL) Research Coverage Started at HSBC

HSBC assumed coverage on shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) in a research report report published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $42.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on PPL. Weiss Ratings lowered PPL from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of PPL from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of PPL from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

PPL Stock Down 0.9%

PPL stock opened at $35.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $26.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.63. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $31.56 and a fifty-two week high of $40.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). PPL had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PPL will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2850 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 67.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $189,804.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,614.20. This represents a 5.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PPL

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in PPL during the second quarter valued at approximately $187,326,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in PPL by 7.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,157,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,787,000 after purchasing an additional 208,820 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in PPL by 23.7% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,056,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,762,000 after purchasing an additional 393,748 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in PPL by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,837,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,786,000 after purchasing an additional 157,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the 2nd quarter worth about $54,611,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PPL

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is an energy and utility holding company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company delivers electricity and natural gas, operates electric distribution and transmission systems, and provides related energy services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

PPL’s principal businesses include PPL Electric Utilities in Pennsylvania, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities in Kentucky, and Rhode Island Energy in Rhode Island.