Huber Capital Management LLC Sells 21,046 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Huber Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 32.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,046 shares during the period. Huber Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.27.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $36.18 on Thursday. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.93 and a 12 month high of $36.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $34.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.37. The firm has a market cap of $26.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PPL 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.