PLDT (NYSE:PHI) Stock Price Down 3.7% – Should You Sell?

PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) shares dropped 3.7% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $19.45 and last traded at $19.4850. 62,225 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 149,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PHI. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PLDT in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of PLDT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of PLDT from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered PLDT from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

PLDT Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 8.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $18.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

PLDT Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.7515 per share. This represents a yield of 841.0%. This is a drop from PLDT’s previous dividend of $0.7977. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 27th. PLDT’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in shares of PLDT by 40.3% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 22,887 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 6,572 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PLDT by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,390 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of PLDT by 47.0% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 121,103 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,548,000 after purchasing an additional 38,731 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in PLDT by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,327,067 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,961,000 after purchasing an additional 29,024 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in PLDT by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 17,926 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

About PLDT

PLDT Inc is a Philippine telecommunications and digital services company serving consumers, businesses and government institutions primarily throughout the Philippines. Its operations include fixed-line telephone services, mobile communications, broadband connectivity, wireless data and digital solutions.

Through its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, PLDT provides mobile voice, messaging, data and broadband services. The company also offers fiber and other fixed broadband services through PLDT Home, while its enterprise business provides connectivity, information and communications technology services, cloud solutions, cybersecurity, data center services and other digital infrastructure offerings.

PLDT traces its origins to 1928, when the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company was established.