PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Insider John R. Crockett III Sells 1,589 Shares

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,898,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,122,749. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.16. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $35.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.97%.

Institutional Trading of PPL

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 102,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,343,000 after acquiring an additional 33,088 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $600,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its position in PPL by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 17,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. 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 several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

PPL Company 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.