Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.94, but opened at $12.61. Korea Electric Power shares last traded at $12.5850, with a volume of 245,601 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut Korea Electric Power from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research raised Korea Electric Power from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Korea Electric Power from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Nomura lowered Korea Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Korea Electric Power Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $16.26 billion, a PE ratio of 2.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $11.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, equities analysts expect that Korea Electric Power Corporation will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Korea Electric Power

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Korea Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Korea Electric Power by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Korea Electric Power by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in Korea Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Barclays PLC purchased a new position in Korea Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000.

About Korea Electric Power

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.