PLDT (NYSE:PHI) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $18.40 and last traded at $18.5450, with a volume of 164784 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PHI shares. Zacks Research cut PLDT from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PLDT in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

PLDT Stock Down 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.66.

PLDT (NYSE:PHI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The technology company reported $0.71 earnings per share 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PLDT Inc. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PLDT

In other news, Director Alfredo Santos Panlilio sold 4,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.64, for a total transaction of $101,993.20. Following the sale, the director owned 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,920. This trade represents a 60.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PLDT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PHI. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of PLDT by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,697,399 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,741,000 after acquiring an additional 209,385 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of PLDT by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 251,013 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,694,000 after acquiring an additional 73,439 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of PLDT by 227.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 77,493 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 53,861 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of PLDT by 47.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 121,103 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,548,000 after acquiring an additional 38,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of PLDT by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 181,574 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,951,000 after acquiring an additional 30,803 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

About PLDT

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.