PPL (NYSE:PPL) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

PPL (NYSE:PPL) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. PPL updated its FY24 guidance to $1.63-1.75 EPS.

PPL Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of PPL traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.09. 3,760,655 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,981,870. The company has a market cap of $20.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL has a 1-year low of $22.20 and a 1-year high of $28.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.39.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America increased 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. StockNews.com downgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.27.

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.