Bank of America Corp DE Acquires Shares of 7,101,009 TELUS Corporation $TU

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 7.1 million TELUS shares worth approximately $75.1 million, giving it a 0.45% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 49.4% of the company.
• TELUS reported quarterly earnings of $0.12 per share, below the $0.16 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.47 billion also missed expectations.
• Shares fell to $8.78, near their 52-week low, amid analyst downgrades and a consensus “Reduce” rating. TELUS declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1875, implying an annualized yield of about 8.5%.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU - Free Report) TSE: T in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,101,009 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock, valued at approximately $75,058,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.45% of TELUS at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of 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 second quarter valued at approximately $100,492,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of TELUS in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,500,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of TELUS in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,707,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of TELUS in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,065,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.40% of the company's stock.

TELUS Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of TELUS stock opened at $8.78 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.82 and a 200 day moving average of $11.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.40, a PEG ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.63. TELUS Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $8.73 and a fifty-two week high of $15.94.

TELUS (NYSE:TU - Get Free Report) TSE: T last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.12 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.55 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that TELUS Corporation will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

TELUS Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. TELUS's payout ratio is currently -131.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on TU. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of TELUS in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of TELUS from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut shares of TELUS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of TELUS from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of TELUS in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $15.33.

TELUS Company Profile

TELUS Corporation is a Canadian telecommunications and technology company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. It provides wireless and wireline communications services, including mobile connectivity, internet, voice, television and home security services, primarily to consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations in Canada.

The company also operates technology-focused businesses outside its traditional telecommunications operations. TELUS Health provides digital health platforms, virtual care, electronic medical records and workplace health solutions.

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