PPL (NYSE:PPL) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $37.96 and last traded at $37.84, with a volume of 469662 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on PPL from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.20.

PPL Stock Up 0.2%

The stock has a market cap of $28.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.48. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 11.22%.The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 81.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,633,781.60. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 141.0% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of PPL by 94.3% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.