Berenberg Bank Upgrades Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) to Hold

Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Telefonica (NYSE:TEF - Free Report) to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DZ Bank downgraded Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Telefonica in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Telefonica presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Telefonica Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of TEF traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $5.20. 502,631 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 684,889. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $29.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's 50-day moving average is $5.13 and its 200-day moving average is $4.59. Telefonica has a fifty-two week low of $3.89 and a fifty-two week high of $5.48.

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08. Telefonica had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a positive return on equity of 9.30%. The company had revenue of $9.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Telefonica will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telefonica Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonica

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Telefonica by 20.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,243,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,861 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Telefonica by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,622,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,563,000 after buying an additional 851,581 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Telefonica by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 963,584 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,874,000 after buying an additional 258,489 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Telefonica during the 4th quarter worth $1,022,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Telefonica by 383.0% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 259,229 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 205,558 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.14% of the company's stock.

About Telefonica

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.