Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. DZ Bank lowered Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Telefonica in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised Telefonica to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonica

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Telefonica by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,603 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in Telefonica during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Telefonica by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 3,361 shares in the last quarter. Momentous Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Telefonica during the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Telefonica during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.14% of the company's stock.

Telefonica Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE TEF traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $5.27. 516,410 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 668,811. The business's fifty day moving average price is $5.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Telefonica has a fifty-two week low of $3.89 and a fifty-two week high of $5.48.

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%. Analysts forecast that Telefonica will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Telefonica Increases Dividend

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

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.