Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF) Given Average Recommendation of “Strong Sell” by Brokerages

Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF) has been given a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” by the nine analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4.0150.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $3.83 target price on shares of Telefonica in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Telefonica in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Kepler Capital Markets raised Telefonica from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Telefonica to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, New Street Research lowered shares of Telefonica from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonica

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TEF. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Telefonica by 1,561.8% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,569,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,355,000 after buying an additional 1,474,721 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Telefonica by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,243,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,093,000 after buying an additional 1,065,861 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Telefonica by 716.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 956,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,872,000 after acquiring an additional 838,907 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Telefonica by 394.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 921,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,683,000 after acquiring an additional 735,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Mission Capital LLC grew its stake in Telefonica by 153.0% in the fourth quarter. OLD Mission Capital LLC now owns 1,074,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,350,000 after acquiring an additional 649,496 shares during the period. 1.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Telefonica Stock Performance

TEF stock opened at $3.81 on Friday. Telefonica has a twelve month low of $3.80 and a twelve month high of $5.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $21.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3.80 and its 200-day moving average is $4.30.

About Telefonica

Telefónica, SA is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Madrid. Founded in 1924 as Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España, it has grown into one of the world’s largest telecommunications groups. Telefónica provides a broad range of communications services to residential and business customers, including mobile and fixed-line telephony, broadband internet, and pay-TV. The company also develops and sells network infrastructure and related services to support connectivity at scale.

Beyond traditional voice and data services, Telefónica has expanded into digital and IT services aimed at enterprise customers and public-sector clients.