Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $5.25 and last traded at $5.25, with a volume of 858922 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on TEF shares. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Telefónica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Telefónica in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telefónica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Telefónica has an average rating of "Hold".

Telefónica Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.42 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $4.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.49.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefónica

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Telefónica by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 100,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 5,829 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Telefónica 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 lifted its position in shares of Telefónica by 83.7% in 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 during the period. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Telefónica in the 1st quarter worth approximately $147,000. Finally, Hamilton Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Telefónica in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Telefónica 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.