PPL Corp. ( NYSE: PPL ) +0.8% in Thursday's trading as Evercore ISI upgrades shares to Outperform from Inline with a $30 price target, citing minimal regulatory risk through 2025, no equity issuance, and a much simpler execution story.
"Under the leadership of CEO Vincent Sorgi, PPL has taken major steps to de-risk the business including exiting U.K., diversifying operations into a constructive regulatory regime in Rhode Island, and strengthening the balance sheet," Evercore analyst Durgesh Chopra wrote.
Following the recent Moody's upgrade to Baa1, PPL ( PPL ) is among top quartile of companies in Evercore's coverage universe in terms of credit profile.
Chopra also notes 50% of PPL's ( PPL ) planned capex through 2025 is "eligible for recovery through trackers/formula rates, and $150M in targeted O&M savings will account for return on the balance of the spending, such that there will be no major rate cases through 2025."
PPL ( PPL ) recently raised its quarterly dividend by 12.5% to $0.225/share .
For further details see:
PPL raised at Evercore ISI on 'minimal' regulatory risk through 2025