PPL Earnings Preview: Revenue Expected to Rise
PPL (NYSE: PPL) releases its next round of earnings this Friday, August 5, 2011. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Friday's second quarter earnings announcement.
Earnings and Revenue:
Wall Street expects an EPS of 44 cents/share and revenues of $2.26 billion. Investors will be keen to see how this quarter's numbers stack up against the year-ago quarter's positive EPS of 62 cents/share on revenues of $1.5 billion. We'll have to wait for Friday to see if PPL reports a decline in EPS and a boost in revenue from the year-ago quarter, as analysts are predicting.
Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:
| Quarter | Q1 | Q4 | Q3 | Q2 |
| EPS Estimate | $0.73 | $0.58 | $0.69 | $0.67 |
| EPS Actual | $0.84 | $0.84 | $0.74 | $0.62 |
Stock Performance:
At last check, shares of PPL were trading at $28.02. Shares are up 9.3% year to date. For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 5.4%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.
- Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement
Average Stock Rating:
The average rating by analysts for PPL is a Hold. Over the past three months this rating's strength has declined slightly.
Competitors:
Want to check out the performance of PPL closest competitors? Take a look at some of the company's peers in the utilities sector.
- American Electric Power Company (NYSE: AEP): Hold with a $0.73 recent quarter EPS
- AES (NYSE: AES): Strong Buy with a $0.29 recent quarter EPS
- Constellation Energy Group (NYSE: CEG): Hold with a $0.63 recent quarter EPS
- Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK): Moderate Sell with a $0.39 recent quarter EPS
The utility-electric power company's industry has seen price/earnings growth of 22.1% during the current fiscal year.
Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: PPL is an energy and utility holding company that generates and markets electricity in the northeastern and western U.S.
Take Action:
That's your advanced look at PPL's upcoming earnings numbers -- be ready to take quick action if the company's report contains any surprises. Also, check back in with us after the announcement for a full recap and what-to-do-next guide.
- To see up-to-date news on PPL, click here
- To see other trading ideas, click here
- To see other company earnings recaps, click here
