PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.86.

A number of research analysts have commented on PPL shares. Scotiabank assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on PPL from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of PPL from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PPL from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th.

PPL Stock Down 0.0%

PPL opened at $34.60 on Friday. PPL has a 1-year low of $31.56 and a 1-year high of $40.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.56.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). PPL had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 13.47%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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 expect that PPL will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a $0.2850 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total transaction of $189,804.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 494.5% in the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in PPL by 206.7% in the second quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in PPL by 72.5% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PPL in the second quarter valued at about $119,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About PPL

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is an energy and utility holding company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company delivers electricity and natural gas, operates electric distribution and transmission systems, and provides related energy services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

PPL’s principal businesses include PPL Electric Utilities in Pennsylvania, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities in Kentucky, and Rhode Island Energy in Rhode Island.