TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU) Stock Now Rated "Reduce" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate TELUS “Reduce” on average: Of 16 covering firms, four recommend selling, nine advise holding and three recommend buying. The average 12-month price target is $15.33.
• Recent results missed expectations: TELUS reported quarterly EPS of $0.12 versus the $0.16 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.47 billion came in below the $3.55 billion forecast.
• The dividend was sharply reduced: TELUS announced a quarterly dividend of C$0.19 per share, down from C$0.42, representing an annualized yield of about 8.9%; institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.4% of the stock.

TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU - Get Free Report) TSE: T has been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.33.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of TELUS from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of TELUS in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered TELUS from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. National Bank Financial cut TELUS from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of TELUS in a research report on Monday, August 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TELUS

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in TELUS during the second quarter worth about $255,178,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of TELUS during the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,492,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of TELUS during the 2nd quarter worth about $75,058,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of TELUS during the 2nd quarter worth about $68,500,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of TELUS in the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,707,000. 49.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TELUS Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of TU stock opened at $8.40 on Thursday. TELUS has a fifty-two week low of $8.13 and a fifty-two week high of $15.85. The stock has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 19.12 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88.

TELUS (NYSE:TU - Get Free Report) TSE: T last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.55 billion. On average, analysts forecast that TELUS will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TELUS Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a dividend of C$0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.9%. This is a drop from TELUS's previous quarterly dividend of C$0.42. TELUS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -131.71%.

About TELUS

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.

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