Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Korea Electric Power from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Nomura lowered shares of Korea Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Korea Electric Power from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Korea Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Korea Electric Power Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:KEP opened at $11.88 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.74. The firm has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.49, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.43. Korea Electric Power has a 52-week low of $11.15 and a 52-week high of $23.41.

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.18). Korea Electric Power had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.31 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Korea Electric Power will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KEP. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Korea Electric Power by 48.1% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 480,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,852,000 after buying an additional 156,227 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 350,337 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates lifted its holdings in Korea Electric Power by 40.0% during the first quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 166,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,370,000 after acquiring an additional 47,526 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Korea Electric Power by 617.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 249,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,552,000 after purchasing an additional 214,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in Korea Electric Power by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 595,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,921,000 after purchasing an additional 215,150 shares during the last quarter.

Korea Electric Power Company Profile

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) is South Korea’s state-owned, integrated electric utility. The company is responsible for the transmission and distribution of electricity throughout South Korea and supplies power to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

KEPCO’s business includes electricity generation through affiliated companies, power transmission and distribution, and related energy services. Its generation-related subsidiaries include Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, which operates nuclear and hydroelectric facilities, as well as several companies focused on thermal and renewable power generation.

Founded in 1961, KEPCO has also pursued international projects involving power generation, transmission, renewable energy and other energy infrastructure.