UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Increases Stock Position in PPL Corporation $PPL

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) by 104.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 972,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 496,769 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd owned 0.13% of PPL worth $35,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 141.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 94.3% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 8,350.0% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 5,352.9% in the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PPL. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $36.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $35.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.13. PPL Corporation has a twelve month low of $31.22 and a twelve month high of $37.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. PPL’s payout ratio is 81.34%.

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.