SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Key Points

• SK Telecom's stock hit a new 52-week high of $39.86 (last $39.43) on Monday with about 686,019 shares traded, giving the company a market capitalization near $14.76 billion.
• Analyst coverage is mixed — one Buy, four Hold and three Sell — resulting in an average rating of Reduce, with recent notable moves including Weiss upgrading to Buy and Bank of America downgrading to Underperform.
• The company reported a sizable EPS beat (EPS $10.67 vs. $0.10 expected) while revenue slightly missed expectations; SK Telecom trades at a high PE of 56.54 and posted a net margin of 2.28%.

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $39.86 and last traded at $39.4320, with a volume of 686019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group downgraded shares of SK Telecom to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Bank of America lowered shares of SK Telecom from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SK Telecom from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SK Telecom from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of SK Telecom from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce".

SK Telecom Stock Up 1.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.76 billion, a PE ratio of 56.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business's fifty day moving average price is $31.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.86.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The Wireless communications provider reported $10.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $10.57. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. SK Telecom had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 3.21%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SK Telecom Co., Ltd. will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SK Telecom

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in SK Telecom by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,462,769 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $50,561,000 after purchasing an additional 374,428 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in SK Telecom by 2.7% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,253,677 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $48,679,000 after purchasing an additional 60,242 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in SK Telecom by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,117,361 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $22,939,000 after purchasing an additional 12,672 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in SK Telecom by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 923,579 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $18,961,000 after purchasing an additional 12,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in SK Telecom by 9.6% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 886,930 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $19,158,000 after purchasing an additional 77,763 shares during the last quarter.

SK Telecom Company Profile

SK Telecom Co, Ltd. NYSE: SKM is South Korea's largest wireless carrier, offering a comprehensive range of mobile telecommunications services. The company operates 5G, 4G LTE and IoT networks, providing voice, data and messaging solutions to consumers and businesses. Beyond traditional wireless services, SK Telecom delivers fixed-line broadband, digital content platforms, cloud computing and cybersecurity offerings designed to support enterprise digital transformation and the growing demand for high-speed connectivity.

Established in 1984 as Korea Mobile Telecommunications Services, SK Telecom pioneered cellular service commercialization in South Korea and has continually expanded into new technology areas.

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