Is PPL Corporation (PPL) a Resilient Stock?

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, released its first-quarter 2024 “Mid Cap Strategy” investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. Large-cap AI beneficiaries led markets in the first quarter, with the Russell 1000 Index returning 10.30%. Meanwhile, midcaps saw a boost from a wider market, with the Russell Midcap Index gaining 8.60%. The Strategy underperformed its Russell Midcap Index benchmark in the first quarter. The strategy gained across nine of the 11 sectors in which it was invested, on an absolute basis. Industrials and financials sectors were the leading contributors while consumer discretionary and IT sectors detracted. Overall stock selection and sector allocation effects detracted from performance on a relative basis. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy highlighted stocks like PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is an energy company focuses on providing electricity and natural gas. The one-month return of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) was -3.01%, and its shares gained 5.81% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 26, 2024, PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) stock closed at $27.70 per share with a market capitalization of $20.435 billion.

ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy stated the following regarding PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:

"We initiated a new position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL), in the utilities sector, which provides electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.6 million customers across Kentucky, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. In addition to operating in strong regulatory regimes, the company has a demonstrated history of resiliency, growing earnings 8% in 2023 despite a $120 million decline in revenue due to warmer winter weather and storm costs. With a strong balance sheet and no foreseeable need to raise equity, we believe the company is well-positioned to benefit from incremental demand for new data center build-outs and reshoring."

Aerial view of a power plant with smoke emitting from its cooling towers.

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 29 hedge fund portfolios held PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) at the end of the first quarter which was 28 in the previous quarter. The first quarter GAAP earnings of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) were $0.42 per share, up from $0.39 in Q1 2023. While we acknowledge the potential of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

ClearBridge Investments' Value Equity Strategy added PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) to its portfolio in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.