PPL (NYSE:PPL) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of PPL (NYSE:PPL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on PPL. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet lowered shares of PPL from a b- rating to a c rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Argus upgraded PPL from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $32.27.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $28.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $20.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.02 and a 200 day moving average of $26.42. PPL has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $28.93.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPL will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Philadelphia Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co. now owns 16,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 46,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. lifted its stake in PPL by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 77,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,192 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance increased its stake in shares of PPL by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 19,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.