PLDT (NYSE:PHI) Shares Climb 3% – What’s Next?

PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) shares shot up 3% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $18.58 and last traded at $18.64. 85,839 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 144,425 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

PLDT Trading Down 1.5%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.44.

PLDT Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.7515 per share. This is a negative change from PLDT’s previous dividend of $0.7977. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 27th. This represents a yield of 841.0%. PLDT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PLDT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PLDT by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,390 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 3,155 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of PLDT by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,684 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of PLDT by 40.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 17,926 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in PLDT by 40.3% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 22,887 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 6,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in PLDT by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 5,205 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

PLDT Company Profile

PLDT Inc is a Philippine telecommunications and digital services company headquartered in Makati City, Philippines. Established in 1928, the company has developed from a traditional fixed-line telephone provider into an integrated communications business serving consumers, enterprises and government organizations across the Philippines.

Through its PLDT brand, the company provides fixed-line voice services, home and enterprise broadband, fiber connectivity, data transmission and information and communications technology solutions.