PLDT (NYSE:PHI) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research cut shares of PLDT (NYSE:PHI) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PLDT in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PLDT has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

PLDT Trading Up 0.3%

PLDT stock opened at $18.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. PLDT has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $24.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 0.64.

PLDT (NYSE:PHI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The technology company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. PLDT had a return on equity of 27.37% and a net margin of 13.62%.The business had revenue of $932.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $913.27 million. Analysts anticipate that PLDT will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

PLDT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.7977 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a dividend yield of 746.0%. PLDT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Alfredo Santos Panlilio sold 4,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.64, for a total transaction of $101,993.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $67,920. This trade represents a 60.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of PLDT by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,327,067 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,961,000 after buying an additional 29,024 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in PLDT by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,697,399 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,741,000 after purchasing an additional 209,385 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in PLDT by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 473,536 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,295,000 after purchasing an additional 5,214 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in PLDT by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 251,013 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,694,000 after purchasing an additional 73,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in PLDT by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 181,574 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,951,000 after purchasing an additional 30,803 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

PLDT Company Profile

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) is the largest integrated telecommunications provider in the Philippines, offering a comprehensive suite of fixed‐line, wireless, broadband Internet, and digital solutions to residential, enterprise, and government customers. Founded in 1928, PLDT has played a pivotal role in the development of the country’s communications infrastructure, evolving from a traditional operator of long‐distance telephone lines into a diversified digital services provider.

PLDT operates two main business segments: its fixed‐line and broadband operations under the PLDT brand and its wireless services through subsidiary Smart Communications.