What PPL’s Implied Volatility Trends Indicate

Why PPL Stock Looks Attractive Compared to Its Peers (Continued from Prior Part) ## Implied volatility On January 3, PPL’s (PPL) implied volatility was close to 25%—near its 15-day average volatility. Recently, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF’s (XLU) implied volatility was 20%. The implied volatility represents investors’ unease. Rising volatility is usually related to falling stock prices. Broader markets witnessed increased volatility in the last few months. The S&P 500 witnessed an implied volatility of 22% on January 3. Usually, broader markets’ implied volatility levels are lower than utilities at large. Recently, Xcel Energy (XEL) and Consolidated Edison’s (ED) implied volatility was close to 20%. Usually, utilities have been more volatile than broader markets. In the past few months, the S&P 500 experienced more volatility than utilities. Among utilities, wildfire-stricken PG&E (PCG) stock experienced an implied volatility of 72%—the highest among these defensives. To learn how top utility stocks played out recently and how they’re placed for 2019, read How Top Utility Stocks Are Placed at the Beginning of 2019. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: * Part 1 - PPL Stock Looks Attractive Compared to Its Peers * Part 2 - What Do PPL’s Chart Indicators and Short Interest Suggest? * Part 4 - PPL Stock: Analysts’ Recommendations