PPL (NYSE:PPL) Stock: Insider Wendy Stark Sells 5,406 Shares

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of PPL stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 99,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,614.20. This represents a 5.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

PPL Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $35.22 on Friday. PPL Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.56 and a 52-week high of $40.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.18 and a 200 day moving average of $35.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). PPL had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders 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 is 67.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on PPL from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on PPL from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Mizuho upgraded shares of PPL to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. Evercore set a $42.00 price target on shares of PPL in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of PPL during the second quarter valued at about $187,326,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 7.1% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,157,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,787,000 after buying an additional 208,820 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 23.7% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,056,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,762,000 after acquiring an additional 393,748 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,837,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,786,000 after acquiring an additional 157,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,611,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Company Profile

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is an energy holding company that owns and operates regulated electric and natural gas utilities in the United States. Its businesses deliver electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, while also operating and maintaining the infrastructure needed to support reliable energy service.

PPL’s principal subsidiaries include PPL Electric Utilities, which serves customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania; Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities, which provide electric and natural gas service in Kentucky; and Rhode Island Energy, which supplies electricity and natural gas to customers across Rhode Island.