Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.80, but opened at $12.42. Korea Electric Power shares last traded at $12.3550, with a volume of 251,636 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Korea Electric Power from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Nomura cut shares of Korea Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Korea Electric Power from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Korea Electric Power from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Korea Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Korea Electric Power Trading Down 2.6%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.42. The company has a market capitalization of $15.31 billion, a PE ratio of 2.49, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.18). Korea Electric Power had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 8.95%.The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Korea Electric Power Corporation will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Korea Electric Power

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KEP. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Korea Electric Power by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC lifted its stake in Korea Electric Power by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 12,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in Korea Electric Power by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 22,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Korea Electric Power by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Korea Electric Power by 6.2% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 746 shares during the period.

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.