PPL (PPL) closed at $34.44 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.29% move from the prior day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.34%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.94%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.16%.
Shares of the energy and utility holding company witnessed a gain of 3.22% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Utilities sector with its loss of 3.09%, and the S&P 500's gain of 1.19%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of PPL in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.41, up 20.59% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $2.34 billion, up 5.69% from the year-ago period.
PPL's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $1.81 per share and revenue of $8.73 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +7.1% and 0%, respectively.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for PPL. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.2% lower. Right now, PPL possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, PPL is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 17.84. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 17.07 of its industry.
Meanwhile, PPL's PEG ratio is currently 2.43. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. Utility - Electric Power stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.51 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 64, which puts it in the top 27% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
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PPL Corporation (PPL): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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