Bare Financial Services Inc Takes $75,000 Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 2,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $75,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the third quarter worth $26,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in PPL by 179.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,045,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,995,653. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.38. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $28.93. The company has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. PPL had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 8.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. PPL’s payout ratio is 103.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on PPL shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.09.

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.