Howe & Rusling Inc. Increases Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of PPL by 179.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in PPL by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of PPL opened at $28.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $28.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. PPL had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 8.45%. PPL’s revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 103.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PPL. StockNews.com cut shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Argus raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.09.

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.