Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) Reaches New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $5.48 and last traded at $5.46, with a volume of 310843 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TEF. Wall Street Zen raised Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Telefonica in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, DZ Bank lowered Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Telefonica has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Telefonica Trading Down 2.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $29.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's 50 day moving average is $5.08 and its 200 day moving average is $4.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.08. Telefonica had a positive return on equity of 9.30% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $9.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.06 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Telefonica SA will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Telefonica Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.1703 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 4.5%. This is an increase from Telefonica's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Telefonica's dividend payout ratio is currently -65.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonica

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TEF. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Telefonica in the first quarter worth about $122,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Telefonica by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 5,829 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Telefonica by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 26,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 5,177 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Telefonica by 83.7% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 292,957 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 133,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in Telefonica during the 1st quarter valued at $147,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.14% of the company's stock.

Telefonica Company 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.