Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Telefonica's share price reached a new 52-week high at $5.49, with recent trading volumes indicating strong investor interest.
• The company announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.1703, reflecting a yield of 450.0% and an increase from its previous dividend payout.
• Analysts have mixed views on Telefonica, with one upgrade to a "buy" rating while 1 analyst gave a "sell" rating, maintaining an average rating of "Hold."

Shares of Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $5.49 and last traded at $5.48, with a volume of 62092 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TEF shares. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Telefonica in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Telefonica to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Telefonica has an average rating of "Hold".

Telefonica Stock Performance

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 business's 50 day moving average is $5.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.90. The company has a market cap of $31.98 billion, a PE ratio of -11.75, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.51.

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08. Telefonica had a negative net margin of 5.88% and a positive return on equity of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $10.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.03 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Telefonica SA will post 0.3 EPS for the current year.

Telefonica Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Telefonica

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Telefonica by 20.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Telefonica by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,638,295 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,954,000 after purchasing an additional 15,707 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Telefonica by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,752,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,166,000 after purchasing an additional 265,090 shares in the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in Telefonica in the 2nd quarter worth $5,440,000. Finally, Nia Impact Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Telefonica 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.