Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) to Issue Dividend Increase - $0.17 Per Share

Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) declared a semi-annual dividend on Monday, June 2nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.1703 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, July 11th. This represents a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This is a 8.1% increase from Telefónica's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.16.

Telefónica has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 7.5% per year over the last three years. Telefónica has a payout ratio of 66.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Telefónica to earn $0.31 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.31 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 100.0%.

Telefónica Price Performance

Shares of TEF traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.30. The company had a trading volume of 604,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 693,236. The company has a market capitalization of $30.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.38 and a beta of 0.46. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $4.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.51. Telefónica has a 1-year low of $3.89 and a 1-year high of $5.36.

Telefónica (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.70 billion during 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%. Analysts expect that Telefónica will post 0.3 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Telefónica by 20.6% in 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 last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Telefónica by 83.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 292,957 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 133,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Telefónica by 24.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 26,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 5,177 shares during the period. 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.