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PPL (PPL) Stock Moves -0.07%: What You Should Know

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PPL (PPL - Free Report) closed at $26.99 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.07% move from the prior day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.37%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.32%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.18%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the energy and utility holding company had lost 0.77% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Utilities sector's loss of 1.68% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 7.18% in that time.

PPL will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, PPL is projected to report earnings of $0.34 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 13.33%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $1.73 billion, up 2.25% from the year-ago period.

PPL's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $1.59 per share and revenue of $7.73 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +12.77% and -2.23%, respectively.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for PPL. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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, 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 0.47% higher. PPL currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that PPL has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.99 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 16.82, so we one might conclude that PPL is trading at a premium comparatively.

Investors should also note that PPL has a PEG ratio of 2.29 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Utility - Electric Power stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.87 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 55, which puts it in the top 22% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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