Ethic Inc. Has $1.89 Million Stock Position in Telefonica SA $TEF

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has reduced its position in Telefonica SA by 31.2%, selling 182,306 shares, and now holds 402,128 shares valued at approximately $1.89 million.
• Telefonica recently increased its semi-annual dividend to $0.1703 per share, up from $0.16, which represents a yield of 450.0%.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.08, meeting analysts' expectations, along with revenues of $10.28 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $9.03 billion.

Ethic Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF - Free Report) by 31.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 402,128 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 182,306 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Telefonica were worth $1,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TEF. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Telefonica by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 248,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 38,490 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Telefonica by 140.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 84,992 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 49,580 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Telefonica by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 143,643 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 6,090 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Telefonica by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,151 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 6,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Telefonica by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 28,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 6,643 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.14% of the company's stock.

Telefonica Stock Up 0.1%

TEF stock traded up $0.0050 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5.4450. 652,062 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 648,801. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $30.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $5.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.96. Telefonica SA has a 1-year low of $3.89 and a 1-year high of $5.72.

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.08. The firm had revenue of $10.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.03 billion. Telefonica had a negative net margin of 5.88% and a positive return on equity of 8.57%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Telefonica SA will post 0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefonica Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.1703 per share. This is an increase from Telefonica's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a yield of 450.0%. Telefonica's dividend payout ratio is -52.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TEF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Telefonica to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Telefonica currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

Telefonica Profile

Telefónica, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Europe and Latin America. The company offers mobile and related services and products, such as mobile voice, value added, mobile data and internet, wholesale, corporate, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services.