PPL (NYSE:PPL) Raised to “Hold” at Royal Bank Of Canada

PPL (NYSE:PPL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on PPL. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Evercore set a $42.00 price target on PPL in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of PPL in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on PPL from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on PPL from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.54.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. PPL has a 12 month low of $33.17 and a 12 month high of $40.10.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.01). PPL had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 13.47%.The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. Analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 34,993 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total value of $772,645.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 561,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,397,522.56. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Robinson sold 37,107 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total transaction of $929,530.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 222,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,583,569.85. This represents a 14.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPL

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in PPL during the second quarter worth $187,326,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its stake in PPL by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 4,424,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $154,957,000 after purchasing an additional 88,531 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in PPL by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,157,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,787,000 after purchasing an additional 208,820 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of PPL by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,056,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,762,000 after purchasing an additional 393,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of PPL by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,837,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,786,000 after purchasing an additional 157,005 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Company Profile

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is an energy and utility holding company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, while also operating and maintaining generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.

PPL’s Pennsylvania operations are conducted through PPL Electric Utilities, which provides electric delivery service across much of central and eastern Pennsylvania.