PPL (NYSE:PPL) EVP Wendy Stark Sells 5,406 Shares of Stock

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total transaction of $189,804.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 99,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,614.20. The trade was a 5.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

PPL Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $35.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,063,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,455,266. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. PPL Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.56 and a 52-week high of $40.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.76. The company has a market cap of $26.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.56.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 13.47%. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2850 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank started coverage on PPL in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on PPL from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Bank of America reduced their price target on PPL from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on PPL from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on PPL from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at $187,326,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 7.1% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 208,820 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of PPL by 23.7% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,056,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,762,000 after acquiring an additional 393,748 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 9.3% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 157,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth about $54,611,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About PPL

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is an energy holding company that owns and operates regulated electric and natural gas utilities in the United States. Its businesses deliver electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, while also operating and maintaining the infrastructure needed to support reliable energy service.

PPL’s principal subsidiaries include PPL Electric Utilities, which serves customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania; Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities, which provide electric and natural gas service in Kentucky; and Rhode Island Energy, which supplies electricity and natural gas to customers across Rhode Island.