KT Corporation (NYSE:KT) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell sharply: Short interest in KT dropped 21.9% to 4,212,006 shares as of April 15, representing 0.9% of shares outstanding and a short-interest ratio of 3.5 days based on average daily volume.
• Analysts and results were mixed: KT missed Q1 EPS ($0.16 vs. $0.18 expected) while slightly beating revenue ($4.72B vs. $4.69B), and analyst actions ranged from upgrades (Zacks, Weiss) to a downgrade (Wall Street Zen), leaving the stock with an average rating of “Moderate Buy.”

KT Corporation (NYSE:KT - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,212,006 shares, a decrease of 21.9% from the March 31st total of 5,393,348 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,212,104 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded KT from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded KT from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered KT from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

KT Price Performance

KT stock opened at $21.13 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.34. KT has a 12-month low of $17.54 and a 12-month high of $24.58. The stock has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42, a PEG ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 0.64.

KT (NYSE:KT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 13th. The technology company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.69 billion. KT had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 9.20%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KT will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KT. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KT by 4,148.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 530,817 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $9,401,000 after purchasing an additional 518,322 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 125,702 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in KT by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 280,713 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,474,000 after buying an additional 79,891 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in KT in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,526,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in KT in the third quarter valued at about $1,190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.86% of the company's stock.

KT Company Profile

KT Corporation, listed on the New York Stock Exchange as an American depositary receipt under the symbol KT, is a major telecommunications and information technology provider headquartered in Seongnam, South Korea. The company's services span traditional fixed-line voice communication, high-speed broadband internet access and mobile cellular networks. Leveraging an extensive fiber-optic and wireless infrastructure, KT delivers voice, data and multimedia solutions to both consumer and enterprise customers.

KT has been at the forefront of technological innovation in its home market, launching South Korea's first commercial 5G network and expanding its offerings to include Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, cloud computing services and cybersecurity solutions.

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