Allentown, Pennsylvania-based PPL Corporation (PPL) operates as an energy company. It provides electricity and natural gas to over 3.6 million customers in the United States. With a market cap of $23.3 billion, PPL operates through Kentucky Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, Rhode Island Regulated, and Corporate & Other segments.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as "large-cap stocks," PPL fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size, influence, and dominance in the regulated electric space.
PPL recently touched its three-year high of $35.15 on Nov. 29 and is currently trading 8.9% below that peak. PPL stock has observed marginal gains over the past three months, lagging behind the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 2.7% gains during the same time frame.
PPL has lagged behind the S&P 500 over the longer-term as well. PPL stock has gained 18.2% on a YTD basis and 19.1% over the past 52 weeks, compared to SPX’s 23% gains in 2024 and over the past year.
To confirm the overall bullish trend and the recent downturn, PPL has remained consistently above its 200-day moving average since mid-February and fell below its 50-day moving average recently in December.
PPL stock dropped 3.1% after the release of its mixed Q3 results on Nov. 1. Its electricity sales to its customers in Pennsylvania and Kentucky grew 1.5% year-over-year to 17,738-gigawatt hours, contributing to a 1.1% year-over-year growth in operating revenues to $2.1 billion, which missed Wall Street’s expectations by 2.1%. Meanwhile, due to an increase in interest, fuel and other operating expenses, its adjusted EPS dropped 2.3% compared to the year-ago quarter to $0.42. Nevertheless, its earnings exceeded analysts’ projections by 7.7%.
On a more positive note, PPL reaffirmed its EPS and dividend growth projection of 6% to 8% through 2027. And it is on track to invest over $3 billion in 2024 on infrastructure improvements to make the grid more resilient to future storms.
PPL has substantially outperformed its peer Consolidated Edison, Inc.’s (ED) 2.1% dip on a YTD basis and 1.4% decline over the past year.
Among the 15 analysts covering the PPL stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” Its mean price target of $35.73 represents an 11.6% premium to current price levels.
