Telefonica Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:TEF)

Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 4,422 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 2,771% compared to the typical daily volume of 154 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TEF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Telefonica in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Telefonica Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of TEF traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $5.20. 341,510 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 685,618. Telefonica has a 52-week low of $3.89 and a 52-week high of $5.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.59. The firm has a market cap of $29.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.46.

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.08. The firm 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Telefonica will post 0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefonica Increases Dividend

The firm 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 an increase from Telefonica's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.16. This represents a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Telefonica's dividend payout ratio is presently -65.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TEF. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Telefonica by 20.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,243,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,861 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Telefonica by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,638,295 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,954,000 after purchasing an additional 15,707 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Telefonica by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,487,510 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,932,000 after buying an additional 57,945 shares during the period. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Telefonica by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 982,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,951,000 after buying an additional 101,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Telefonica by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 963,584 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,874,000 after acquiring an additional 258,489 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.