Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires New Shares in TELUS Corporation $TU

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 24.1 million TELUS shares worth approximately $255.2 million, giving it a 1.53% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 49.4% of the company.
• TELUS reported quarterly EPS of $0.12, below the $0.16 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.47 billion also missed expectations of $3.55 billion.
• Analyst sentiment is largely cautious, with the stock carrying a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $15.33 target price. TELUS declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1875, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 7.6%.

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU - Free Report) TSE: T in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 24,128,736 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock, valued at approximately $255,178,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 1.53% of TELUS as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FIL Ltd raised its position in TELUS by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 30,300,204 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $399,352,000 after purchasing an additional 16,066,539 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in TELUS by 258.3% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 19,816,565 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $261,727,000 after buying an additional 14,285,486 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in TELUS in the 4th quarter valued at about $83,707,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in TELUS by 21.5% in the first 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 buying an additional 4,258,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in TELUS by 40.0% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,033,455 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $142,387,000 after buying an additional 2,583,074 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded shares of TELUS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of TELUS in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Barclays set a $11.00 target price on TELUS and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of TELUS in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered TELUS from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $15.33.

TELUS Stock Performance

Shares of TU stock opened at $9.89 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $9.20 and a 52 week high of $16.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.57 billion, a PE ratio of -24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.04.

TELUS (NYSE:TU - Get Free Report) TSE: T last posted 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). The business had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. TELUS had a positive return on equity of 8.01% and a negative net margin of 4.51%. On average, research analysts predict that TELUS Corporation will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TELUS Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. TELUS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -295.12%.

TELUS Profile

TELUS Corporation NYSE: TU is a Canadian telecommunications and technology company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. It delivers a broad portfolio of consumer and business communications services across Canada, including mobile wireless, fixed-line voice, broadband internet, and television. TELUS also provides a range of enterprise services such as cloud and IT solutions, managed network services, cybersecurity and Internet of Things (IoT) offerings for business customers.

Beyond core connectivity, TELUS has expanded into health and digital services.

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