PPL (NYSE:PPL) Shares Break Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $36.07 and traded as high as $36.21. PPL shares last traded at $36.1630, with a volume of 8,969,118 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PPL. Truist Financial initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of PPL from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.06.

PPL Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $26.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.07.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.01). PPL had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 13.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2850 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.46%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total transaction of $189,804.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 99,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,614.20. This trade represents a 5.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at about $187,326,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,521,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in PPL by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,335,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,651,000 after buying an additional 126,179 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,893,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in PPL in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,111,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Company Profile

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.