PPL (PPL) closed at $36.06 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.14% move from the prior day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.38%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.03%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.87%.
Heading into today, shares of the energy and utility holding company had gained 1.23% over the past month, lagging the Utilities sector's gain of 1.62% and outpacing the S&P 500's loss of 5.59% in that time.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of PPL in its upcoming release. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.54, marking stability compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $2.38 billion, indicating a 3.45% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $1.82 per share and revenue of $8.48 billion. These totals would mark changes of +7.69% and +0.22%, respectively, from last year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for PPL. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.09% lower. Right now, PPL possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, PPL is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.8. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 18.59, which means PPL is trading at a premium to the group.
Also, we should mention that PPL has a PEG ratio of 2.93. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. PPL's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.79 as of yesterday's close.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 58, finds itself in the top 24% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
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PPL Corporation (PPL): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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