PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) by 37.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 616,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 166,792 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.08% of PPL worth $22,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its holdings in PPL by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in PPL by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 12,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in PPL by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Up 0.0%

PPL opened at $36.38 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $26.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.64. PPL Corporation has a 52 week low of $29.97 and a 52 week high of $36.99.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.99 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total transaction of $77,636.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $36.70.

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.