Hana Securities said on the 17th that with KT's new chief executive officer (CEO) confirmed, expectations will grow for a 2026 value-up policy announcement, and if the Commercial Act passes to mandate the retirement of treasury shares by law, KT would effectively be the primary beneficiary. It maintained a "Buy" investment rating and a target price of 70,000 won. KT's closing price the previous day was 54,200 won.
The day before, former KT President Park Yoon-young was chosen as KT's next CEO candidate. Hana Securities analyzed that KT still faces negative factors related to hacking, including a penalty surcharge, but those are already well known, and with the new CEO confirmed, expectations will rise for a 2026 value-up policy announcement.
It also saw other policy benefits ahead. Kim Hong-sik, a Hana Securities researcher, said, "If the third Commercial Act passes and the retirement of treasury shares is mandated by law, KT would effectively be the primary beneficiary," adding, "With separate taxation of dividends income set to take effect, and with quarterly dividends likely to increase sharply starting in April, a strong inflow of buying is expected."
He explained that this is because, considering the expected dividend yield in 2026 and the increase in dividends over the past two years, the stock still appears excessively undervalued.
Kim said, "Given that the CEO appointment could heighten expectations for normalization of KT's value-up policy, it would be better to start buying as soon as possible."
He emphasized that while risks from the management reshuffle have been priced into the stock, attention should also be paid to the fact that the potential strengthening of the value-up policy under the new management has not yet been reflected in the share price.
Kim said, "With the foreign ownership limit nearly filled and the issue of legally mandated retirement of treasury shares, there is a high likelihood that the dividend per share (DPS) will be raised significantly next year, but the stock's reaction so far has been minimal," adding, "At least a 40% or more rise in the share price is still expected."
At the same time, Hana Securities projected that KT's DPS will be only 600 won through January 2026, but jump to 900 won in April.
Kim analyzed, "Looking back at past experience, KT's share price showed a brisk rise even before the quarterly dividends were adjusted upward," adding, "There is a high chance KT will break through 70,000 won by May 2026."