PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $40.00 According to Analysts

Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.00.

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on PPL from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered PPL from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on PPL from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on PPL from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on PPL in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ashley 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 transaction of $772,645.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 561,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,397,522.56. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of the company’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 value of $189,804.66. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,614.20. This trade represents a 5.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPL

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PPL in the second quarter worth approximately $4,521,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth approximately $187,326,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 10.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,335,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,651,000 after acquiring an additional 126,179 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth approximately $1,893,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $114,787,000 after acquiring an additional 208,820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $34.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.91. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $31.56 and a fifty-two week high of $40.10.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2850 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.46%.

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, operates electric distribution and transmission systems, and provides related energy services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

PPL’s principal businesses include PPL Electric Utilities in Pennsylvania, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities in Kentucky, and Rhode Island Energy in Rhode Island.