TELUS (NYSE:TU) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week low of $13.06 and were trading down about 2%, while analysts’ consensus rating is Hold with a consensus price target of $18.17 amid mixed upgrades and price-target cuts.
• TELUS reported an earnings miss (EPS $0.17 vs. $0.19 expected) and revenue of $3.67B versus $3.77B consensus, showing near-flat year-over-year revenue and modest profitability (net margin 5.71%).
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.4184 (annualized $1.67) for a reported yield of 12.9%, but the dividend payout ratio is 220%, which raises questions about sustainability.

Shares of TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU - Get Free Report) TSE: T reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $13.06 and last traded at $13.0660, with a volume of 607286 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on TU. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of TELUS from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of TELUS from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down from $22.00) on shares of TELUS in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of TELUS in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.17.

TELUS Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business's 50-day moving average is $15.07 and its 200 day moving average is $15.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.71.

TELUS (NYSE:TU - Get Free Report) TSE: T last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.02). TELUS had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that TELUS Corporation will post 0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TELUS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.4184 per share. This is an increase from TELUS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. TELUS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 220.00%.

Institutional Trading of TELUS

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of TELUS by 26.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,227 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the period. Walter Public Investments Inc. grew its stake in TELUS by 1.9% during the third quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 39,334 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in TELUS by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,483 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of TELUS by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,926 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of TELUS by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 46,099 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. 49.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TELUS Company Profile

TELUS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of telecommunications and information technology products and services in Canada. It operates through Technology Solutions and Digitally-Led Customer Experiences segments. The Technology Solutions segment offers a range of telecommunications products and services; network services; healthcare services; mobile technologies equipment; data services, such as internet protocol; television; hosting, managed information technology, and cloud-based services; software, data management, and data analytics-driven smart food-chain and consumer goods technologies; home and business security; healthcare software and technology solutions; and voice and other telecommunications services, as well as mobile and fixed voice and data telecommunications services and products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.