Opinions among securities firms diverged regarding the direction of Korea Electric Power Corporation's stock price. Those who believe the stock price can rise further argued that attention should be paid to the potential entry into the overseas nuclear power market. Conversely, there were assessments that the current stock price already reflects sufficient expectations, making further rises difficult.
Moon Kyung-won, a researcher at MERITZ Securities, maintained a 'buy' investment opinion on Korea Electric Power Corporation on the 13th and raised the target price to 55,000 won. This is 42.7% higher than the previous day's closing price of 38,550 won and the highest among domestic securities firms' target prices.
The consolidated operating profit announced by Korea Electric Power Corporation for the second quarter of this year (April to June) was 2.1 trillion won, falling short of the market forecast of 2.4 trillion won; however, researcher Moon assessed that it is not a structural expense increase issue.
Researcher Moon emphasized that discussions on international nuclear power cooperation could become active again, especially due to the upcoming South Korea-U.S. summit at the end of this month and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju at the end of October. This could become an opportunity to reassess the value of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, which is under Korea Electric Power Corporation.
Researcher Moon stated, "The United States needs the help of its allies to increase its nuclear power capacity fourfold by 2050, and Korea has promised infrastructure investments to the United States," adding that "cooperation with Vietnam is also something to pay attention to, as Vietnam is expected to select a project operator for the Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant by the first half of 2026."
In addition to MERITZ Securities, ▲ Eugene Securities 50,000 won ▲ DAISHIN SECURITIES 49,000 won ▲ NH Investment & Securities 48,000 won, etc., raised the target price for Korea Electric Power Corporation. They expected policy momentum alongside the potential entry into the U.S. nuclear power market.
Hwang Seong-hyun, a researcher at Eugene Securities, noted, "With the review of implementing a regional differential tariff system by 2026, the domestic electricity market is judged to have entered the initial stage of system reform," stating, "The reform is expected to reduce the valuation discount rate of Korea Electric Power Corporation."
Lee Min-jae, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, also stated, "Considering the expansion of the domestic artificial intelligence (AI) industry and renewable energy investments, as well as the improvement in performance due to electricity price increases and raw material price declines, I maintain a 'buy' opinion on Korea Electric Power Corporation."
Expectations for dividends due to performance stabilization were also high. Heo Min-ho, a researcher at DAISHIN SECURITIES, stated, "If Korea Electric Power Corporation's annual standalone net profit for this year is 6.71 trillion won, and assuming a payout ratio of 19.1%, the dividend per share would be 2,000 won," adding, "The dividend yield is expected to be 5.2% based on the current stock price."
Shinhan Investment & Securities and SK Securities also raised the target price for Korea Electric Power Corporation to 40,000 won but maintained a conservative opinion.
Choi Kyu-won, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, commented, "Korea Electric Power Corporation needs to improve its fundamentals first by raising prices for the nuclear power business expectations to be fully reflected in the stock price."
Na Min-sik, a researcher at SK Securities, gave a 'neutral' investment opinion on Korea Electric Power Corporation. He stated, "Recently, the stock price of Korea Electric Power Corporation has risen due to expectations for the nuclear power business, and considering that the past maximum price-to-book ratio (PBR) was traded at 0.6 times, I believe expectations are sufficiently reflected in the stock price."