Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Position in TELUS Corporation $TU

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in TELUS by 3.2% in Q4 to 29,470,046 shares (about 1.90% of the company), adding 916,459 shares valued at roughly $388.4 million.
• TELUS reported Q results with EPS of $0.15 versus a $0.18 consensus and revenue of $3.83 billion versus $3.85 billion, and analysts forecast roughly 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year; the stock has a market cap near $19.9 billion.
• TELUS paid a quarterly dividend of $0.4184 (annualized $1.67), implying a 13.0% yield but carrying a very high payout ratio of 236.54%.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU - Free Report) TSE: T by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,470,046 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after acquiring an additional 916,459 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 1.90% of TELUS worth $388,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Walter Public Investments Inc. raised its holdings in TELUS by 1.9% during the third quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 39,334 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in TELUS by 7.0% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,483 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in TELUS by 35.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,926 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 841 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in TELUS by 8.6% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 10,953 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the period. 49.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TELUS Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of TU stock opened at $12.86 on Thursday. TELUS Corporation has a 12-month low of $11.69 and a 12-month high of $16.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $12.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.61.

TELUS (NYSE:TU - Get Free Report) TSE: T last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.03). TELUS had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 5.42%.The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that TELUS Corporation will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TELUS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.4184 per share. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. TELUS's payout ratio is presently 236.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on TU shares. TD Cowen raised TELUS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut TELUS from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut TELUS from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings cut TELUS from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Securities raised TELUS from a "buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.63.

About TELUS

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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