Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for PPL (NYSE:PPL) Stock

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its target price upped by analysts at Barclays from $33.00 to $36.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 3.40% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.27.

PPL Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $34.82 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.78. The company has a market cap of $25.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $25.87 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at about $345,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 81,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after acquiring an additional 13,297 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 3,322.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 212,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,421,000 after purchasing an additional 206,216 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 12,609 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 4.2% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 60,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

About PPL

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.