Back to top

Image: Bigstock

PPL (PPL) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

PPL (PPL - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $37.54, moving +1.02% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.74%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 1.01%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 2.38%.

The energy and utility holding company's shares have seen a decrease of 2.93% over the last month, surpassing the Utilities sector's loss of 4.43% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.99%.

The upcoming earnings release of PPL will be of great interest to investors. In that report, analysts expect PPL to post earnings of $0.63 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 5%. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $2.62 billion, reflecting a 4.78% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $1.95 per share and a revenue of $9.53 billion, indicating changes of +7.73% and +5.35%, respectively, from the former year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for PPL. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

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, there's been a 0.09% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. PPL currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, PPL is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.06. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 18.18, which means PPL is trading at a premium to the group.

Meanwhile, PPL's PEG ratio is currently 2.6. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Utility - Electric Power industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.69.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 82, finds itself in the top 34% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. 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.

Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)

Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.

Click Here, It's Really Free

Published in