Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company.

Several research firms have weighed in on KEP. Nomura downgraded shares of Korea Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Korea Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut Korea Electric Power from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Korea Electric Power from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Korea Electric Power

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Korea Electric Power by 102.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 136,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,655,000 after purchasing an additional 69,166 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in Korea Electric Power by 166.5% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 105,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 65,994 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Korea Electric Power by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 45,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 7,150 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Korea Electric Power during the 2nd quarter worth about $121,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its position in shares of Korea Electric Power by 54.2% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 265,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,207,000 after buying an additional 93,194 shares during the period.

Korea Electric Power Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of KEP opened at $12.20 on Monday. Korea Electric Power has a fifty-two week low of $11.15 and a fifty-two week high of $23.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.89 and a 200 day moving average of $13.73. The firm has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.43.

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.31 billion. Korea Electric Power had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 18.25%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Korea Electric Power will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

About Korea Electric Power

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) is South Korea’s state-owned, integrated electric utility. The company is responsible for the transmission and distribution of electricity throughout South Korea and supplies power to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

KEPCO’s business includes electricity generation through affiliated companies, power transmission and distribution, and related energy services. Its generation-related subsidiaries include Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, which operates nuclear and hydroelectric facilities, as well as several companies focused on thermal and renewable power generation.

Founded in 1961, KEPCO has also pursued international projects involving power generation, transmission, renewable energy and other energy infrastructure.