Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a hold recommendation to the company.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TEF shares. DZ Bank downgraded Telefónica from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telefónica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Telefónica in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Telefónica during the first quarter worth $122,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Telefónica by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 5,829 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Telefónica by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 26,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 5,177 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Telefónica by 83.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 292,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 133,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Telefónica in the first quarter valued at about $147,000. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Telefónica Stock Performance

Shares of TEF stock opened at $5.26 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.85. Telefónica has a 1 year low of $3.89 and a 1 year high of $5.37. The firm has a market cap of $29.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.21 and a beta of 0.46.

Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.06 billion. Telefónica had a positive return on equity of 10.10% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. Analysts predict that Telefónica will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Telefónica Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.1703 per share. This represents a yield of 4.5%. This is a boost from Telefónica’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Telefónica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -63.16%.

Telefónica Company Profile

Telefónica, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Europe and Latin America. The company offers mobile and related services and products, such as mobile voice, value added, mobile data and internet, wholesale, corporate, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services.