PLDT (NYSE:PHI) Sets New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• PLDT Inc. shares reached a new 52-week low of $18.61 during trading, with a recent trading price of $18.69.
• Brokerages have downgraded PLDT's stock ratings, with Wall Street Zen shifting from "buy" to "hold" and Zacks Research rating it as a "strong sell."
• PLDT announced an increase in its semi-annual dividend to $0.8414 per share, which reflects a significant yield of 530.0%.

PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $18.61 and last traded at $18.69, with a volume of 107753 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PHI. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PLDT from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. UBS Group cut shares of PLDT from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of PLDT to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PLDT currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

PLDT Trading Down 0.3%

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $21.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.66.

PLDT Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.8414 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a yield of 530.0%. This is an increase from PLDT's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.81. PLDT's payout ratio is currently 47.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PLDT

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHI. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in PLDT by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 27,170 shares of the technology company's stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 3,023 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of PLDT by 3,217.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,136 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 46,685 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PLDT by 44.9% in the 1st quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 29,746 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 9,221 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PLDT by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,270 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of PLDT by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 120,974 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,646,000 after purchasing an additional 15,610 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.26% of the company's stock.

PLDT Company Profile

PLDT Inc provides telecommunications and digital services in the Philippines. The company operates through three segments: Wireless, Fixed Line, and Others. It offers cellular mobile, Internet broadband distribution, operations support, software development, and satellite information and messaging services; and sells Wi-Fi access equipment.

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