Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Telefonica's stock price reached a new 52-week high of $5.65, reflecting a positive trading session with over 25,000 shares exchanged.
• The company announced a semi-annual dividend increase to $0.1703, up from the previous $0.16, translating to a substantial yield of 450.0%.
• Research analysts have mixed views on Telefonica, with one rating it as a buy and several maintaining a hold or sell rating, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold."

Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $5.65 and last traded at $5.65, with a volume of 25505 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank raised Telefonica to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. DZ Bank lowered Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Telefonica in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Telefonica Trading Up 0.4%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.29 and a 200 day moving average of $4.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $32.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.51.

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08. The company had revenue of $10.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.03 billion. Telefonica had a positive return on equity of 8.57% and a negative net margin of 5.88%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Telefonica SA will post 0.3 EPS for the current year.

Telefonica Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.1703 dividend. This is a boost from Telefonica's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.16. This represents a yield of 450.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Telefonica's dividend payout ratio is currently -52.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonica

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Telefonica 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 acquiring an additional 1,065,861 shares in the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Telefonica during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,440,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Telefonica by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,622,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,563,000 after acquiring an additional 851,581 shares during the period. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV lifted its holdings in Telefonica by 99.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV now owns 780,285 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,081,000 after purchasing an additional 389,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Telefonica by 2,896.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 302,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 292,193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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