Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF) Receives Average Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Reduce" by the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company.

TEF has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Telefonica in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. DZ Bank lowered Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Berenberg Bank raised Telefonica to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Telefonica by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 67,901 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 18,988 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Telefonica by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,100 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Telefonica by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,429,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,747,000 after acquiring an additional 66,797 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Telefonica by 179.2% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 281,932 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 180,945 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Telefonica by 576.6% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,316 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 11,348 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.14% of the company's stock.

Telefonica Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of TEF opened at $5.29 on Friday. 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 one year low of $3.89 and a one year high of $5.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.92, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.63.

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

Telefonica Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.1703 per share. This represents a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This is an increase from Telefonica's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.16. Telefonica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -63.16%.

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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