StockNews.com Lowers PLDT (NYSE:PHI) to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of PLDT (NYSE:PHI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday.

PLDT Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PHI opened at $27.31 on Monday. PLDT has a 12-month low of $20.63 and a 12-month high of $30.39. The company has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.32.

PLDT (NYSE:PHI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The technology company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $923.00 million during the quarter. PLDT had a net margin of 12.33% and a return on equity of 21.49%. Equities research analysts expect that PLDT will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

PLDT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.634 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This is a boost from PLDT’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.60. This represents a yield of 4.4%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PLDT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in PLDT by 337.8% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 37,877 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 29,225 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PLDT during the 1st quarter valued at $258,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PLDT by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 93,479 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,296,000 after acquiring an additional 9,206 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of PLDT by 19.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 56,050 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,377,000 after acquiring an additional 9,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PLDT during the fourth quarter worth $117,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.