It's been a great morning session for Korea Electric Power investors, who saw their shares rise 3.4% to a price of $8.74 per share. At these higher prices, is the company still fairly valued? If you are thinking about investing, make sure to check the company's fundamentals before making a decision.
Korea Electric Power Corporation, an integrated electric utility company, generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in South Korea and internationally. The company belongs to the Utilities sector, which has an average price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 26.37 and an average price to book (P/B) ratio of 1.47. In contrast, Korea Electric Power has a trailing 12 month P/E ratio of -1.3 and a P/B ratio of 0.0.
P/B ratios are calculated by dividing the company's market value by its book value. The book value refers to all of the company's tangible assets minus its liabilities -- meaning that intangibles such as intellectual property, brand name, and good will are not taken into account. Traditionally, a P/B ratio of around 1 shows that a company is fairly valued, but owing to consistently higher valuations in the modern era, investors generally compare against sector averages.
Korea Electric Power has moved -12.3% over the last year compared to -20.1% for the S&P 500 — a difference of 7.8%. Korea Electric Power has a 52 week high of $10.18 and a 52 week low of $5.76.
