Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $15.46, but opened at $14.79. Korea Electric Power shares last traded at $14.72, with a volume of 40,550 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KEP shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Korea Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. Bank of America downgraded Korea Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Zacks Research downgraded Korea Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Korea Electric Power from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Korea Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Korea Electric Power Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.32.

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $16.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Korea Electric Power had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 8.80%. Analysts predict that Korea Electric Power Corporation will post 3.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KEP. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Korea Electric Power by 18.5% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new position in shares of Korea Electric Power during the 2nd quarter valued at $179,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Korea Electric Power by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 191,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 6,336 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Korea Electric Power by 122.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 142,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 78,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Korea Electric Power in the 2nd quarter worth 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.