Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 1,027,515 shares, a growth of 62.0% from the May 14th total of 634,373 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,197,780 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Korea Electric Power Stock Down 2.4%

KEP stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.27. 204,592 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 827,785. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.83, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.93. Korea Electric Power has a 52-week low of $10.22 and a 52-week high of $23.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter. Korea Electric Power had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 8.80%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Korea Electric Power will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America cut Korea Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings cut Korea Electric Power from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Korea Electric Power from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Korea Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Korea Electric Power from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Korea Electric Power by 18.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 4,556 shares during the period. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Korea Electric Power in the second quarter valued at approximately $179,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Korea Electric Power by 3.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 191,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,726,000 after buying an additional 6,336 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Korea Electric Power by 122.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 142,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after buying an additional 78,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Korea Electric Power in the second quarter valued at approximately $360,000.

Korea Electric Power Company Profile

Korea Electric Power (KEP) is a South Korea–based integrated electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The company’s activities span power plant operation and maintenance, grid management, fuel procurement and power trading, as well as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for large-scale power projects. Its asset base includes a mix of thermal, nuclear, hydro and renewable generation capacity, and the company supports system planning and reliability functions for the national electricity network.

In addition to core utility operations, KEP provides a range of technical and consulting services tied to power infrastructure, including plant construction, refurbishment and decommissioning support.