Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $22.53, but opened at $21.05. Korea Electric Power shares last traded at $21.11, with a volume of 154,106 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Korea Electric Power in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Korea Electric Power to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Korea Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Korea Electric Power Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.23. The company has a market cap of $29.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.07 and a beta of 0.89.

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The utilities provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.03. Korea Electric Power had a return on equity of 19.00% and a net margin of 8.47%.The business had revenue of $19.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.17 billion.

Institutional Trading of Korea Electric Power

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Korea Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Korea Electric Power during the third quarter worth $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Korea Electric Power by 204.3% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Korea Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Korea Electric Power by 1,144.4% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 3,170 shares during the last quarter.

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.