PPL Corp

Utility stocks have been rallying for the last two years amid broader market volatility. The rally in these stocks steepened last year.

Utility stocks have been some of the strongest equities this year. The stocks are up approximately 20% this year, in line with the Dow Jones.

Generally, investors prefer utility stocks due to their stable dividend-paying capabilities. Currently, they offer an average dividend yield of 3%.

Recession fears have been hovering over the market throughout this year. However, defensives such as utilities are trading at record highs.

Among the top utilities, Southern Company’s 4.2% dividend yield beats the peer average of 3%. However, PPL’s yield is 5.6% and Dominion Energy yields 4.8%.

Utility stocks seem overvalued. Utilities have reached record levels. They have been trading at inflated valuations for months.

The unusual rally in utility stocks has pushed them to record valuation multiples this year. On average, they’re currently trading at 19 times their forward earnings!

Southern Company (SO) stock presents a downside of ~4.0% from its current price level of $55.5. Analysts have given Southern Company stock a target price of $53.3. Of the 20 analysts tracking Southern Company, two analysts rated the stock as a “buy,” 13 analysts rated it as a “hold,” four analysts rated it a “sell,” and one analyst rated it as a “strong sell” as of June 18.

PPL (PPL) obtains almost two-thirds of its total revenues from the United Kingdom. Its unique geographical diversification bodes well for stable earnings growth. PPL’s premium yield of 5.3% looks attractive against peers’ average of 3.2%.

The utilities sector continues to offer a premium dividend yield along with stable upward price movement. On average, utility stocks are currently yielding 3.2%, while broader markets offer a yield close to ~2%.

Utility stocks (XLU) are currently trading at a dividend yield of 3.1%, higher than broader markets.

Many utility stocks seem to be trading at a large premium compared to the industry average. One of the top gainers, Exelon’s (EXC), stock is trading at 16 times its forward earnings at the moment, lower than peers’ average.

Analysts’ consensus gave PPL (PPL) stock a mean target price of $32.1, which implies an estimated upside of 4.3% for the next 12 months.

PPL (PPL) is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings on May 2. According to analysts’ estimates, PPL will report an EPS of $0.72.

Utility stocks continued to underperform broader markets last week.

Analysts have given FirstEnergy (FE) a consensus target price of $44.2 compared to its current market price of $40.2.

Southern Company (SO) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share, which implies an annualized dividend of $2.48 per share.

In this article, we’ll discuss analysts’ views and price targets on relatively cheap utility stocks from a valuation perspective.

Utility stocks as a whole are trading at a forward PE multiple of ~18x, higher than their historical average.

Utilities have been an effective hedge against market uncertainty. They have also beaten broader markets in the longer term.

While broader markets continued to gain as the US-China trade talks resumed, utility stocks fell more than 1% on March 28.

PPL Corporation (PPL) is trading at a dividend yield of 5.1%, one of the highest among utilities.

According to analysts’ estimates, FirstEnergy (FE) stock has a target price of $42.33 compared to its current market price of $40.42.

FirstEnergy offers a dividend yield of 3.7%, which is higher than utilities’ average yield of 3.2%. FirstEnergy’s five-year average yield is ~4.3%.

FirstEnergy (FE) stock was one of the top performers among utilities last year. In the last 12 months, the stock has risen ~25%.

In this part of our series, we’ll discuss the institutional ownership in the top utility stocks during the fourth quarter.

PPL (PPL) is trading at a forward PE ratio of 13x based on analysts’ EPS estimates for 2019. PPL appears to be trading at a discounted valuation.

Southern Company (SO) is trading at a dividend yield of 4.9%, which is notably higher than broader utilities’ average yield close to 3.3%.

PPL’s (PPL) dividend yield is 5.2%, one of the highest among utilities, and its forward PE multiple is 12.7x.

Currently, utilities (XLU) offer a yield of 3.3%, which implies a spread of almost 50 basis points to the benchmark ten-year Treasury yield.

Last week, utilities started on a weak note. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) fell marginally, while the S&P 500 rose almost 3%.

Utilities played out well last year amid broader markets’ volatility. They returned more than 6%, while the S&P 500 returned -6% last year.

Analysts have given PPL (PPL) stock a median target price of $31.6, which implies an estimated upside of almost 13% for the next 12 months.

PPL (PPL), a mid-sized regulated utility, is trading at a forward PE ratio of 11x based on analysts’ EPS estimates for 2019.

AES (AES) is currently trading at a dividend yield of 3.8%, higher than utilities’ (XLU) average yield of 3.4%.

PPL (PPL) expects fair annual earnings growth for the next few years, of ~5%–6%, which could facilitate dividend growth.

PPL’s (PPL) dividend increase in February was its 16th annual increase in 17 years.

Analysts expect PPL’s (PPL) dividend to grow ~4% next year, and broader utilities’ to grow ~4%–6% on average.

In this series, we’ll look PPL (PPL), the highest-yielding utility stock.

Currently, utilities offer a yield of 3.4%, which indicates a spread of almost 50 basis points to the ten-year Treasury yield.

Pennsylvania-based PPL (PPL) stock is currently trading at a dividend yield of 5.4%.

Slow and stable utility stocks have outperformed broader markets so far this year.

PPL Corporation (PPL) is expected to report EPS of $0.56 for the third quarter.

The slow-and-steady utilities sector was the top performer yesterday when the broader markets fell 3%.

Currently, FirstEnergy is trading at a dividend yield of 3.8%. The company is expected to pay an annualized dividend of $1.44 per share in 2018.

Utilities rose ~2% last week despite the strength in Treasury yields. The benchmark ten-year Treasury yield closed at a multiyear high.

In this series, we’ll look at the S&P 500 Utilities stocks that have generated the highest total returns over the past five years.

PPL stock has a median target price of $31.27 compared to its current market price of $29.56—an estimated upside of ~6% for the next 12 months.

PPL (PPL), the top-yielding stock among the S&P 500 Utilities, has underperformed its peers in terms of total returns in 2018.

Exelon’s (EXC) EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise value-to-EBITDA) multiple is 7.57x.

Earnings and dividend growth for PPL (PPL) for the next few years looks achievable considering its expected rate base growth.

Almost all utility stocks currently offer unattractive upside potentials due to their recent rallies.

Despite being the top-yielding utility, PPL (PPL) has underperformed its peers in terms of total returns in 2018 due to its weak market performance.

PPL reported better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter. The company’s earnings grew 6% compared to the same period last year.

Fidelity Management added 19.3 million shares of PPL during the quarter and took its total holdings to 6.3%.

Currently, Xcel Energy (XEL) stock is trading at a PE multiple of 20.0x compared to its five-year historical average of 18.0x.

Analysts’ mean target price of $31.46 for PPL (PPL), among this year’s most battered stocks, implies an 11% upside to its current price of $28.41.

PPL Corporation (PPL) is currently trading at a dividend yield of 5.8%, which is much higher than utilities’ average yield of 3.4%.

PPL Corporation (PPL) stock is trading at a PE multiple of 13x compared to its five-year historical average of 14x.

PPL Corporation (PPL) stock has rallied more than 11% in the last month, outperforming utilities at large.

Among the 18 analysts covering American Electric Power (AEP), six recommend a “hold,” and eight recommend a “buy.”

PPL Corporation (PPL) is currently trading at a dividend yield of 5.7%, one of the highest in the sector.

The largest institutional investor in PPL was the Vanguard Group, which held 7.4% of PPL stock at the end of the first quarter.

PPL Corporation (PPL) is one of the top-yielding utilities in the S&P 500 Utilities Index.

On May 23, PPL (PPL) was trading at a PE multiple of 13x compared to its five-year historical average of 14x.

The Vanguard Group held 7.4%, or 51.4 million of PPL’s total outstanding shares, at the end of the first quarter.

Pennsylvania-based PPL Corporation (PPL) has a mean price target of $32.2 compared to its current market price of $27.7.

US utility stocks slipped 0.8% on May 15 after ten-year Treasury yields peaked at 3.1%—a seven-year high. Broader markets also corrected 0.7%.

According to analysts’ consensus estimate, PPL Corporation (PPL) stock offers an attractive potential upside of 13% over the next year.

Currently, PPL Corporation is trading at a PE (price-to-earnings) multiple of 13.5x compared to its five-year historical average of near 14x.

PPL (PPL) stock offers an attractive potential upside of more than 13% in a year with a mean target price of $32.3. PPL stock is trading at $28.5.

Currently, PPL is trading at a PE (price-to-earnings) multiple of 13.5x—compared to its five-year historical average valuation near 14x.

US utility stocks continued to recover last week after being weak for more than three months. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) rose almost 3%.

According to Wall Street analysts’ consensus, PPL (PPL) stock offers attractive potential upside of more than 16% in a year with a mean target price of $32.4. Currently, PPL stock is trading at $27.9.

PPL Corporation (PPL) stock has returned -21% in the last year. The underperformance was largely due to its stock falling in the last few months.

PPL’s dividend yield rose significantly—mainly because of its steep stock fall. It’s currently trading at a dividend yield of 6%, compared to its peers’ (XLU)(IDU) average yield of 4.3%.

PPL Corporation (PPL) stock was particularly hit by the recent utilities turmoil. Its valuation fell significantly over the last few months.

In this part of our series, we’ll take a look at S&P 500 Utilities (XLU) stocks that offer attractive upside potential.

Pennsylvania-based PPL Corporation (PPL) stock fell more than 20% in the last three months.

US utility stocks have corrected roughly 11% in the last three months since the last rate hike in December 2017.

According to analysts’ consensus, PPL (PPL) stock offers a handsome potential upside of ~22% in a year with a mean target price of $33.5.

On March 7, 2018, PPL’s (PPL) implied volatility reached almost 30%—notably higher than its 15-day average.

Currently, PPL is trading at a PE (price-to-earnings) multiple of 13x—compared to peers’ (XLU) average valuation around similar levels.

American Electric Power (AEP) stock is currently trading at an EV-to-EBITDA valuation of 10x, while its five-year historical valuation comes in around 10x.

Among the total 18 analysts covering American Electric Power (AEP), seven recommend it as a “hold,” seven recommend it as a “buy,” four recommend it as a “strong buy,” and none recommend it as a “sell” as of March 7.

According to Wall Street analysts’ estimates, PPL (PPL) offers the highest potential upside of nearly 22% in a year.

What are the next utility sector dividend growers? In this series, we’ll discuss the rest of the top S&P 500 utility sector dividend growers. The top dividend growers are listed in the chart below. The chart also shows a comparison with the broad-based indexes (SPX-INDEX) (DJIA-INDEX) (COMP-INDEX). We’ll start with PPL Corporation (PPL).   What […]

PPL Corporation (PPL) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share on February 22.

Currently, utilities are trading at a PE (price-to-earnings) multiple of 13x—compared to their historical average valuation of ~14x–15x.

Among the total 15 analysts covering PPL Corporation, nine recommend the stock as a “hold” while two recommend it as a “strong buy.”

PPL Corporation (PPL) stock fell below both its moving average levels in October 2017 and has been trading significantly weak since then.

On February 15, PPL Corporation (PPL) stock was trading at an EV-to-EBITDA valuation multiple near 10.2x.

PPL Corporation (PPL) is currently trading at a dividend yield of 5.1%.

One of the largest regulated utilities, Xcel Energy has a mean price target of $50.2, which implies an estimated upside of more than 4% over the next year.

According to Wall Street analysts, SCANA Corporation (SCG) stock has an expected upside of nearly 22% in a year. It has a mean price target of $47.44 against its current market price of $39.0.

According to Wall Street analysts’ estimates, PPL Corporation (PPL) has a mean target price of $37.8—compared to its current market price of $32.4.

On December 19, PPL stock was trading at an EV-to-EBITDA multiple near 10.5x. Its five-year historical average and industry average multiples are near 11x.

PPL Corporation’s (PPL) 4% per year dividend increase is on the lower side compared to its peers.

PPL Corporation’s (PPL) payout ratio in 2016 was ~54%, which is lower than its five-year historical average of 61%.

According to Wall Street analyst consensus, PPL (PPL) has a mean price target of $39.71 against its current market price of $35.91, which shows a gain potential of approximately 11% going forward.