Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for PPL (NYSE:PPL) Stock

PPL (NYSE:PPL) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Barclays from $33.00 to $36.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.40% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on PPL. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.27.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $34.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. PPL has a one year low of $25.87 and a one year high of $35.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.78.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,981,760,000 after purchasing an additional 750,033 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PPL by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,195,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070,499 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in PPL by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after buying an additional 1,720,941 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $891,532,000 after buying an additional 3,380,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.