Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $19.13, but opened at $18.51. Korea Electric Power shares last traded at $18.4850, with a volume of 94,385 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KEP. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Korea Electric Power in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Korea Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Korea Electric Power to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Korea Electric Power Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.06 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.92.

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The utilities provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.03. Korea Electric Power had a return on equity of 19.00% and a net margin of 8.47%.The firm had revenue of $19.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.17 billion.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Korea Electric Power

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KEP. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Korea Electric Power by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,556 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Korea Electric Power during the second quarter worth approximately $201,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Korea Electric Power by 169.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 9,652 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Korea Electric Power during the second quarter worth $824,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Korea Electric Power by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 34,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 3,772 shares in the last quarter.

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.