PPL (NYSE:PPL) Stock Bumped Up to “Strong-Buy” by Scotiabank

PPL (NYSE:PPL) was upgraded by Scotiabank to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on PPL. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Evercore set a $42.00 price objective on PPL in a research note on Monday, August 17th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on PPL from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.21.

PPL Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $32.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.57. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $34.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.10.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). PPL had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, Director Kristen Robinson sold 37,107 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total value of $929,530.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 222,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,583,569.85. The trade was a 14.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ashley Johnson sold 34,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $772,645.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 561,482 shares in the company, valued at $12,397,522.56. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in PPL in the second quarter valued at approximately $187,326,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $114,787,000 after purchasing an additional 208,820 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in PPL by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,056,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,762,000 after purchasing an additional 393,748 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in 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 valued at $66,786,000 after purchasing an additional 157,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the second quarter worth $54,611,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Company Profile

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is an energy holding company that owns and operates regulated electric and natural gas utilities in the United States. Its businesses deliver electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, while also operating and maintaining the infrastructure needed to support reliable energy service.

PPL’s principal subsidiaries include PPL Electric Utilities, which serves customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania; Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities, which provide electric and natural gas service in Kentucky; and Rhode Island Energy, which supplies electricity and natural gas to customers across Rhode Island.