PPL (NYSE:PPL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

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

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on PPL. Barclays raised their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.90.

PPL Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE PPL opened at $36.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. PPL has a 12 month low of $27.24 and a 12 month high of $36.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.85.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of PPL by 141.0% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in PPL by 94.3% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.