PPL Co. (PPL) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 10th

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.2725 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26.

PPL has decreased its dividend by an average of 14.7% annually over the last three years. PPL has a payout ratio of 55.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect PPL to earn $1.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.09 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.6%.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.76 on Friday. PPL has a 12 month low of $25.87 and a 12 month high of $35.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.54. The firm has a market cap of $24.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. 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 data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities research analysts expect that PPL will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company 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.