Short Interest in Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) Expands By 21.3%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 21.3% to 875,420 shares as of March 13, about 0.1% of shares outstanding and a short-interest ratio of 0.9 days.
• Research firms including Wall Street Zen and Weiss Ratings downgraded KEP to a Hold, leaving the consensus analyst rating at Hold.
• Several institutional investors increased or initiated positions while the stock was trading down 8.2% at $13.66; KEP has a market cap of $17.53 billion and a low P/E of 2.91.

Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 875,420 shares, an increase of 21.3% from the February 26th total of 721,918 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 990,237 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on KEP. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Korea Electric Power from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut Korea Electric Power from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Korea Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Institutional Trading of Korea Electric Power

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KEP. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Korea Electric Power during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,017,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Korea Electric Power by 19.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 530,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,558,000 after purchasing an additional 87,682 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in Korea Electric Power by 87.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 380,348 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,964,000 after purchasing an additional 176,920 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Korea Electric Power by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,201,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,110,000 after purchasing an additional 216,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Korea Electric Power by 216.7% during the 2nd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 242,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,458,000 after purchasing an additional 166,154 shares during the period.

Korea Electric Power Trading Down 8.2%

NYSE:KEP opened at $13.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.91, a PEG ratio of 0.05 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.46. Korea Electric Power has a 1 year low of $7.19 and a 1 year high of $23.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.29 and a 200-day moving average of $17.02.

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter. Korea Electric Power had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 18.76%.

About Korea Electric Power

Korea Electric Power (KEP) is a South Korea–based integrated electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The company's activities span power plant operation and maintenance, grid management, fuel procurement and power trading, as well as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for large-scale power projects. Its asset base includes a mix of thermal, nuclear, hydro and renewable generation capacity, and the company supports system planning and reliability functions for the national electricity network.

In addition to core utility operations, KEP provides a range of technical and consulting services tied to power infrastructure, including plant construction, refurbishment and decommissioning support.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.