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

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

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

Telefonica Price Performance

TEF traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $5.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 337,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 562,317. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $5.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.79. Telefonica has a 12 month low of $3.89 and a 12 month high of $5.48.

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08. The firm had revenue of $10.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.03 billion. Telefonica had a negative net margin of 5.88% and a positive return on equity of 8.57%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Telefonica will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telefonica Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TEF. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Telefonica by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,603 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in Telefonica during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Telefonica by 50.4% in the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 3,361 shares during the last quarter. Momentous Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Telefonica in the 1st quarter worth $50,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Telefonica by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 11,635 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 4,419 shares during the period. 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.