Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) Cut to “Neutral” at Nomura

Nomura lowered shares of Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

KEP has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley cut Korea Electric Power from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered Korea Electric Power from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Korea Electric Power from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Korea Electric Power Stock Up 2.0%

KEP opened at $11.73 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $12.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Korea Electric Power has a one year low of $11.25 and a one year high of $23.41.

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 17th. The utilities provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. Korea Electric Power had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm had revenue of $16.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.21 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Korea Electric Power will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Korea Electric Power

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Korea Electric Power by 47,424.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 375,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,900,000 after purchasing an additional 374,652 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Korea Electric Power by 119.3% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 644,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,178,000 after buying an additional 350,337 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Korea Electric Power by 26.0% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,514,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,761,000 after buying an additional 312,680 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Korea Electric Power in the second quarter worth about $3,448,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Korea Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $2,821,000.

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.