PPL (NYSE:PPL) Now Covered by Analysts at HSBC

Analysts at HSBC assumed coverage on shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. HSBC’s price target suggests a potential upside of 21.39% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Evercore set a $42.00 price objective on PPL in a report on Monday, August 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of PPL from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho raised shares of PPL to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of PPL in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL opened at $34.60 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.66. PPL has a 52-week low of $31.56 and a 52-week high of $40.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.56.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. PPL had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPL will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $189,804.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,614.20. This trade represents a 5.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

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