PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Stock Has Average Target Price of $40.12 According to Analysts

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.12.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PPL shares. Mizuho set a $38.00 target price on PPL in a research report on Monday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of PPL from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Wendy Stark sold 5,406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,614.20. This represents a 5.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPL

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter valued at $187,326,000. Bahl & Gaynor LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the 3rd quarter valued at about $133,070,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 7.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 208,820 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in PPL by 21.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,183,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,824,000 after acquiring an additional 385,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in PPL by 23.7% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,056,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,762,000 after acquiring an additional 393,748 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $35.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.03. PPL has a 1-year low of $31.56 and a 1-year high of $40.10.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. PPL had a net margin of 13.62% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.920-1.960 EPS. Analysts forecast that PPL will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were issued a $0.2850 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.14%.

PPL Company Profile

PPL Corporation is an energy company that owns regulated electric and natural gas utilities. Its businesses generate, transmit and distribute electricity and deliver natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. PPL serves customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Rhode Island through subsidiaries including PPL Electric Utilities, Louisville Gas and Electric Company, Kentucky Utilities and Rhode Island Energy. Its utility operations maintain the infrastructure used to provide energy and support related customer services.