Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF) Receives Average Rating of "Strong Sell" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Nine firms rate Telefónica a consensus "Strong Sell" (five sell, four hold) with an average 12‑month target price of $4.02.
• Share performance and fundamentals: TEF opened at $3.81 (near its 12‑month low of $3.80), has a $21.6B market cap and a negative P/E (-9.29), reflecting weak earnings metrics while trading near recent lows.

Shares of Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Strong Sell" by the nine research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $4.0150.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup downgraded Telefonica to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Telefonica from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. New Street Research cut Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Telefonica from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Telefonica in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonica

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TEF. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $29,093,000 after buying an additional 1,065,861 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Telefonica by 83.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 292,957 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 133,509 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Telefonica by 24.5% during the 1st 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. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Telefonica by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,641 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 11,289 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Telefonica by 170.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,540 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 35,647 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.14% of the company's stock.

Telefonica Price Performance

TEF opened at $3.81 on Friday. Telefonica has a twelve month low of $3.80 and a twelve month high of $5.72. The company's 50-day moving average price is $3.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.35. The stock has a market cap of $21.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.29, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

About Telefonica

Telefónica, SA is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Madrid. Founded in 1924 as Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España, it has grown into one of the world's largest telecommunications groups. Telefónica provides a broad range of communications services to residential and business customers, including mobile and fixed-line telephony, broadband internet, and pay-TV. The company also develops and sells network infrastructure and related services to support connectivity at scale.

Beyond traditional voice and data services, Telefónica has expanded into digital and IT services aimed at enterprise customers and public-sector clients.

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