Scotiabank upgrades PPL Corporation stock to Strong Buy
Published on 10/01/2026 at 12:05 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
PPL Corporation (ISIN US69351T1060) was trading at EUR 29.19 at Lang & Schwarz on October 1, 2026 at 12:02 p.m. CEST, while Scotiabank upgraded the utility to Strong Buy in a report covered by MarketBeat on September 30, 2026. The rating change gives the current utility story a sharper market angle, even as the latest quarterly result included a modest earnings shortfall against consensus.
Scotiabank lifts the rating
Scotiabank's upgrade came alongside a broader Moderate Buy consensus and an average analyst target of USD 40.21, according to MarketBeat on September 30, 2026. The same overview listed 10 Buy ratings and four Holds among 14 firms, making the rating distribution more constructive than the quarterly earnings comparison.
The target implies a clear valuation gap in the source's USD framework, but it cannot be directly netted against the Lang & Schwarz euro quotation. PPL's primary listing is on the NYSE, where a separate quote stood at USD 32.88 on September 30, 2026, according to the dated market information carried by onvista.
Second-quarter earnings set the test
PPL reported USD 230.0 million of GAAP net income, or USD 0.30 per share, in the second quarter of 2026, compared with USD 183.0 million, or USD 0.25 per share, in the second quarter of 2025, according to the company's PPL Corporation investor-relations page. That is a USD 47.0 million increase in GAAP net income, while adjusted ongoing earnings reached USD 0.33 per share and remained below the USD 0.34 consensus cited by MarketBeat on September 22, 2026.
Revenue reached USD 2.11 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up 4.2 percent year over year, but it also missed the USD 2.19 billion consensus. The contrast matters: reported earnings improved, yet the operating result still had to clear a modest expectation gap before the upgrade could become a stronger earnings signal.
Guidance remains the anchor
PPL reaffirmed fiscal 2026 ongoing earnings guidance of USD 1.90 to USD 1.98 per share and maintained its long-term target of 6 percent to 8 percent annual earnings growth through 2029, as reported by Yahoo Finance on September 2, 2026. The company also cites USD 23.0 billion of planned infrastructure investment through 2029 on its investor-relations page, placing capital deployment at the center of the longer-term earnings case.
For investors, the key comparison is between the upgraded analyst view and the mixed quarterly scorecard. PPL offers a quantified growth plan, but the next market test will be whether future earnings can convert that investment program into results above the current guidance midpoint of USD 1.94 per share.
PPL stock trades above prior close
PPL stock was trading at EUR 29.19 at Lang & Schwarz on October 1, 2026 at 12:02 p.m. CEST, up 0.55 percent versus the EUR 29.03 Lang & Schwarz prior close of September 30, 2026. The market capitalization was USD 24.8 billion as of October 1, 2026, while the primary listing is NYSE in USD.
The further course of trading is shown by the continuously updated real-time quote of PPL Corporation stock.
PPL Corporation stock facts
- Company: PPL Corporation
- ISIN: US69351T1060
- Ticker: PPL
- Primary exchange: NYSE
- Price Lang & Schwarz as of October 1, 2026, 12:02 p.m. CEST: EUR 29.19
- Change versus prior close: plus 0.55 percent
- Prior close Lang & Schwarz September 30, 2026: EUR 29.03
- Market capitalization: USD 24.8 billion as of October 1, 2026
- Sector / Industry: Utilities / Regulated Electric
