UBS Reiterates Buy on PPL Corp. (PPL) Following 3Q Report

UBS reiterated a Buy rating on PPL Corp (NYSE: PPL), and raised the price target to $38.00 (from $36.00), following the company's 3Q earnings report. PPL reported 3Q16 EPS of $0.63 vs the consensus of $0.58, largely driven by strong performance to date at all business segments.

Analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith commented, "Recall from the hedging update that PPL pointed to strength in its underlying businesses giving management confidence in the 2016 mid-point. The increased midpoint guidance of $2.38 vs $2.35 is reflective of actions PPL took in October to capture gains from the remaining 2016 hedges against a weakening GBP. We see the 6 cents of negative impact from FX strikes more than offset by strong business line results. We note O&M specifically attributed 4 cents to the updated 2016 guidance and emphasize that the primary ongoing benefit will be coming out of PPL's UK segment, as mgmt. noted on the call that O&M UK benefits are expected to continue through 2017. While we note there was no 2017 guidance update, mgmts update today on 2016 gives us confidence in the 4-6% UK regulated growth targets, as well as the 6-8% domestic growth. The key focus will be sustainability of wider tailwinds into '18."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on PPL Corp click here. For more ratings news on PPL Corp click here.

Shares of PPL Corp closed at $34.00 yesterday.

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