SK Telecom (SKM) and Its Peers Head to Head Survey

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) is one of 33 public companies in the “Wireless Telecommunication Services” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare SK Telecom to similar companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares SK Telecom and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SK Telecom	7.49%	9.26%	4.18%
SK Telecom Competitors	7.82%	8.21%	3.23%

Volatility & Risk

SK Telecom has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SK Telecom’s peers have a beta of 1.98, meaning that their average share price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

48.6% of shares of all “Wireless Telecommunication Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of SK Telecom shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 23.2% of shares of all “Wireless Telecommunication Services” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SK Telecom and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
SK Telecom	$12.04 billion	$285.89 million	12.49
SK Telecom Competitors	$18.13 billion	$2.68 billion	28.29

SK Telecom’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than SK Telecom. SK Telecom is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for SK Telecom and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SK Telecom	2	3	1	1	2.14
SK Telecom Competitors	324	920	1459	142	2.50

As a group, “Wireless Telecommunication Services” companies have a potential upside of 37.13%. Given SK Telecom’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe SK Telecom has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Dividends

SK Telecom pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. SK Telecom pays out 38.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Wireless Telecommunication Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.5% and pay out 37.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

SK Telecom peers beat SK Telecom on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

SK Telecom Company Profile

SK Telecom is a South Korean telecommunications company that provides mobile voice and data services, including 5G connectivity, to consumers and businesses. Its offerings also include internet of things and enterprise connectivity solutions. Through its subsidiary SK Broadband, the company provides fixed-line broadband and IPTV services, including its B tv platform. SK Telecom is also developing artificial intelligence services and infrastructure, alongside data center and cloud-related offerings.