Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Telefónica (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on TEF. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Telefónica in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. DZ Bank lowered Telefónica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Telefónica presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Telefónica Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Telefónica stock opened at $5.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $4.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.71 and a beta of 0.46. Telefónica has a twelve month low of $3.89 and a twelve month high of $5.15.

Telefónica (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.06 billion. Telefónica had a positive return on equity of 10.10% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. Equities research analysts forecast that Telefónica will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefónica

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Telefónica by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,603 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in Telefónica during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Drive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Telefónica during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Prospect Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Telefónica during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telefónica during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 1.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Telefónica

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.

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