Citigroup Inc. Boosts Stock Position in SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in SK Telecom Co., Ltd. by 55.5%, acquiring an additional 429,434 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.2 million shares valued at $25.57 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently shifted their positions in SK Telecom, with notable transactions including BNP Paribas acquiring shares worth about $10.71 million.
• SK Telecom's latest quarterly earnings report showed a missed EPS estimate of $0.16, far below the consensus estimate of $0.36, while revenue was also slightly below expectations at $3.12 billion.

Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM - Free Report) by 55.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,202,830 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after acquiring an additional 429,434 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.31% of SK Telecom worth $25,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in SK Telecom in the fourth quarter worth $10,712,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SK Telecom in the fourth quarter valued at $1,879,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of SK Telecom by 2.7% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,018,570 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $64,175,000 after purchasing an additional 80,042 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in SK Telecom by 87.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 157,789 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $3,355,000 after acquiring an additional 73,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in SK Telecom in the 4th quarter worth about $1,344,000.

SK Telecom Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:SKM traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.54. 222,589 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 344,122. SK Telecom Co., Ltd. has a 12-month low of $19.84 and a 12-month high of $24.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a PEG ratio of 9.18 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.80.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.20). SK Telecom had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 5.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.14 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SK Telecom Co., Ltd. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SKM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered SK Telecom from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. New Street Research upgraded SK Telecom to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered SK Telecom from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered SK Telecom from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered SK Telecom from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

About SK Telecom

SK Telecom Co, Ltd. provides wireless telecommunication services in South Korea. The company operates through three segments: Cellular Services, Fixed-Line Telecommunications Services, and Other Businesses. The Cellular Services segment offers wireless voice and data transmission, Internet of Things solutions, platform, cloud, smart factory solutions, subscription, advertising and curated shopping under T Deal brand name, and metaverse platform-based services, as well as sells wireless devices.