Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys 725,164 Shares of KT Corporation $KT

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in KT Corporation by 57.4% in Q1, acquiring a total of 1,988,160 shares now valued at approximately $35.19 million.
• KT Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2164 per share, with an annualized yield of 4.4% and a payout ratio of 77.17%.
• Equities analysts have upgraded KT's rating to "strong-buy", with recent ratings reflecting positive sentiment for the stock.

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KT Corporation (NYSE:KT - Free Report) by 57.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,988,160 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 725,164 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.39% of KT worth $35,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in KT by 107.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 242,212 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,290,000 after buying an additional 125,702 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KT during the 1st quarter worth about $220,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of KT during the 1st quarter worth about $811,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of KT by 20,894.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the technology company's stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 20,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in KT by 4,148.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 530,817 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $9,401,000 after buying an additional 518,322 shares in the last quarter. 18.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KT. Zacks Research raised shares of KT from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KT from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy".

KT Price Performance

KT stock traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,218,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,520,219. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $20.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.37. KT Corporation has a 12 month low of $14.77 and a 12 month high of $21.61. The company has a market capitalization of $10.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 0.72.

KT (NYSE:KT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 5th. The technology company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter. KT had a net margin of 3.35% and a return on equity of 5.06%. Analysts anticipate that KT Corporation will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th were paid a $0.2164 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. KT's payout ratio is presently 52.59%.

KT Profile

KT Corporation provides integrated telecommunications and platform services in Korea and internationally. The company offers mobile voice and data telecommunications services based on 5G, 4G LTE and 3G W-CDMA technology; fixed-line telephone services, including local, domestic long-distance, international long-distance, and voice over Internet protocol telephone services, as well as interconnection services; broadband Internet access service and other Internet-related services; and data communication services, such as fixed-line and leased line services, as well as broadband Internet connection services.