Dividend Stock Leader 'KT'... Boasts Record-High Returns This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] With increased market volatility, interest in stable dividend stocks that can secure dividend income is growing. In particular, as investors are busy searching for high-dividend stocks, KT is attracting attention with forecasts that it will achieve the highest-ever dividend yield this year.

According to the financial investment industry on the 21st, among the three traditional telecom dividend stocks, KT is expected to have the highest dividend yield. The consensus forecast for KT's dividend per share (DPS) is 1,600 to 1,800 KRW, with an expected dividend yield of 5.1% to 5.8%. This is the highest level ever. Kim Hong-sik, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, emphasized, "Even investors who are not interested in dividend investment at this point should mechanically buy KT," adding, "Considering the recent upward trend in DPS, the current stock price is absurdly undervalued."

Shin Eun-jung, a researcher at DB Financial Investment, also analyzed, "KT's price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of 8.6 times and price-to-book ratio (PBR) of 0.6 times this year offer valuation attractiveness, and the continuous expansion of dividends proportional to earnings growth is an investment point," adding, "Assuming this year's expected DPS is 1,600 KRW, the dividend yield is about 5.1%, the highest among the three telecom companies."

The securities industry also judges that KT has high investment attractiveness in the mid to long term. Researcher Kim said, "Considering the DPS trend and expected dividend yield, the investment attractiveness is higher than in any past phase, and it is highly likely that performance will exceed expectations this year, making mid- to long-term investment promising."

Researcher Shin emphasized, "In addition to the core business, business models in fields such as content, finance, and real estate are being concretized, and profit generation through synergy with affiliates is also expected." He forecasted that KT's third-quarter sales and operating profit will increase by 3.7% and 23.8% year-on-year to 6.222 trillion KRW and 361.9 billion KRW, respectively, in line with consensus estimates. Fourth-quarter performance is expected to see sales and operating profit increase by 3.8% and 13.7% year-on-year to 6.4441 trillion KRW and 189.6 billion KRW, respectively.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.