Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) Upgraded by Berenberg Bank to Hold Rating

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

Several other brokerages also recently commented on TEF. DZ Bank downgraded shares of 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 report 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 assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Telefonica presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Telefonica Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Telefonica stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $5.23. 445,374 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 677,225. The company has a market cap of $29.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.46. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $5.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. Telefonica has a 52 week low of $3.89 and a 52 week high of $5.48.

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

Telefonica Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Telefonica's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.5%. Telefonica's payout ratio is presently -65.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Telefonica by 20.6% during the 1st 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 boosted its position in shares of Telefonica by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,638,295 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,954,000 after acquiring an additional 15,707 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Telefonica by 4.1% during 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 position in shares of Telefonica by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 982,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,951,000 after acquiring an additional 101,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Telefonica by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 963,584 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,874,000 after acquiring an additional 258,489 shares in the last quarter. 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.