Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $1.03 Million Stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,981,760,000 after acquiring an additional 750,033 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,195,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070,499 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $891,532,000 after acquiring an additional 3,380,745 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $572,300,000 after acquiring an additional 500,058 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of PPL by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,672,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $411,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,371,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PPL shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.80.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.51 on Friday. PPL Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.24 and a 12 month high of $36.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.11.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. PPL’s payout ratio is 80.74%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,485 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,065.30. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.