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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Seoul, October 10 — NH Investment & Securities has lowered its target price for KT Corp. from ₩75,000 to ₩67,000, citing weakened investor sentiment following recent hacking incidents and diminishing appeal of dividend stocks amid a bullish market. The firm, however, maintained its “Buy” rating on the stock.
According to analyst Ahn Jae-min, KT’s share price closed at ₩51,200 on October 2. “While the telecom sector continues to benefit from a favorable environment as the 5G investment cycle winds down, a series of cybersecurity breaches has undermined investor confidence,” Ahn wrote in a report.
He added, “Although KT gained some subscribers following SK Telecom’s hacking incident, KT itself also suffered a cyber intrusion. The number of affected users is smaller than its rival’s, but reputational damage, compensation costs, and potential fines are inevitable.”
Ahn projected KT’s third-quarter operating profit to reach ₩474.3 billion, up 2.2% year-on-year but falling short of the previous estimate of ₩575.2 billion.
Analysts noted that KT’s near-term stock performance may remain sluggish as cybersecurity issues and waning dividend attractiveness offset the sector’s otherwise stable fundamentals.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
