Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,198 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in PPL were worth $1,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in PPL by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 91.3% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in PPL by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,808,000 after buying an additional 104,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in PPL by 8.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,571,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,098,000 after buying an additional 202,296 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.35 and a one year high of $34.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.51.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.50.

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.