Lincluden Management Ltd. Has $23.99 Million Stock Position in TELUS Corporation $TU

Key Points

• Lincluden Management Ltd. increased its position in TELUS by 9.7% to 1,821,826 shares, worth approximately $23.99 million, representing about 0.12% of TELUS and roughly 2.6% of Lincluden's portfolio (its 14th largest holding).
• TELUS pays an annualized dividend of $1.67 (a 13.6% yield) but the payout ratio is very high at 236.54%, and the company recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.15 that missed estimates, raising questions about dividend sustainability.
• Analysts are mixed—five Buys, four Holds and two Sells—giving TELUS an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.63.

Lincluden Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU - Free Report) TSE: T by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,821,826 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after purchasing an additional 161,320 shares during the period. TELUS makes up approximately 2.6% of Lincluden Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Lincluden Management Ltd. owned 0.12% of TELUS worth $23,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TU. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in TELUS by 1.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 779,692 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $11,181,000 after purchasing an additional 11,900 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in TELUS by 1.9% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 46,099 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in TELUS by 159.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 37,274 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 22,912 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in TELUS by 67.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,698 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in TELUS during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,617,000. 49.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on TU shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of TELUS from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $16.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of TELUS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of TELUS from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of TELUS from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded TELUS from a "buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TELUS currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.63.

TELUS Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of TU opened at $12.32 on Wednesday. TELUS Corporation has a 52 week low of $11.69 and a 52 week high of $16.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.98 and a 200-day moving average of $13.50.

TELUS (NYSE:TU - Get Free Report) TSE: T last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). TELUS had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that TELUS Corporation will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TELUS Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a $0.4184 dividend. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. TELUS's dividend payout ratio is presently 236.54%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU - Free Report) TSE: T.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.