TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $15.33

Shares of TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.33.

TU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut shares of TELUS to an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays set a $11.00 price objective on shares of TELUS and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of TELUS in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Desjardins downgraded TELUS from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of TELUS in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock.

TELUS Price Performance

Shares of TU opened at $7.95 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $12.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.38, a PEG ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.62. TELUS has a 12 month low of $7.78 and a 12 month high of $15.55.

TELUS (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.04). TELUS had a positive return on equity of 8.01% and a negative net margin of 4.51%.The firm had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that TELUS will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current year.

TELUS Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a C$0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.4%. This is a decrease from TELUS’s previous quarterly dividend of C$0.42. TELUS’s dividend payout ratio is -131.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TELUS

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in TELUS by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 24,075,122 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $309,159,000 after acquiring an additional 4,258,557 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of TELUS by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 21,108,090 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $271,237,000 after purchasing an additional 3,571,734 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in TELUS by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,844,098 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $126,343,000 after acquiring an additional 486,043 shares during the last quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in TELUS by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 6,775,387 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $89,416,000 after acquiring an additional 148,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in TELUS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,707,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.40% of the company’s stock.

TELUS Company Profile

TELUS Corporation is a Canadian telecommunications and technology company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Through its TELUS Communications business, the company provides wireless and wireline telecommunications services, including mobile voice and data, high-speed internet, television, home security, and business communications solutions.

TELUS also operates technology-focused businesses serving customers in Canada and international markets. TELUS Health provides digital health platforms, virtual care, employee assistance, and related healthcare services.