In the latest close session, PPL (PPL) was up +1.69% at $34.33. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.28%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.43%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.09%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the energy and utility holding company had lost 0.06% was narrower than the Utilities sector's loss of 0.73% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 4.37%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of PPL in its upcoming release. On that day, PPL is projected to report earnings of $0.39 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 2.63%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $1.98 billion, indicating a 5.52% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.82 per share and revenue of $8.91 billion, which would represent changes of +7.69% and +5.27%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for PPL. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. 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, 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.09% higher. Right now, PPL possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, PPL is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.55. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 17.88 for its industry.
We can also see that PPL currently has a PEG ratio of 2.49. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The average PEG ratio for the Utility – Electric Power industry stood at 2.59 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Utility – Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 82, this industry ranks in the top 34% of all industries, numbering over 250.
