Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $5.36 and last traded at $5.34, with a volume of 667254 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $5.31.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.1703 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This is a positive change from Telefónica's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.16. Telefónica's dividend payout ratio is -63.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TEF has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telefónica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Telefónica in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank lowered Telefónica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Telefónica Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $29.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.31 and a beta of 0.46.

Telefónica (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. 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 analysts expect that Telefónica, S.A. will post 0.3 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Telefónica

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Telefónica by 20.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,243,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,861 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Telefónica by 0.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,638,295 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,954,000 after acquiring an additional 15,707 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Telefónica by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,487,510 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,932,000 after acquiring an additional 57,945 shares in the last quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Telefónica by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 982,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,951,000 after purchasing an additional 101,030 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Telefónica by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 963,584 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,874,000 after purchasing an additional 258,489 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.14% of the company's stock.

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.