TELUS (TSE:T) Share Price Passes Below 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• TELUS stock passed below its 200-day moving average, trading as low as C$18.35 and last at C$18.58 versus the 200-day MA of C$19.83 on volume of 7.42 million shares—an important bearish technical signal.
• Analysts remain broadly positive with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" (six Buys, three Holds, one Sell) and an average target price of C$21.38, though several firms have recently trimmed targets.
• Fundamentals show a market cap of C$29 billion, quarterly EPS of C$0.20 on C$5.23 billion revenue and a very high debt-to-equity ratio (~199), while insiders bought 258,245 shares over the last quarter.

TELUS Co. (TSE:T - Get Free Report) NYSE: TU's stock price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$19.83 and traded as low as C$18.35. TELUS shares last traded at C$18.58, with a volume of 7,421,419 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of TELUS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. National Bank Financial reduced their price objective on shares of TELUS from C$21.50 to C$21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Desjardins set a C$23.00 price target on shares of TELUS and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered their price target on TELUS from C$20.00 to C$19.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price objective on TELUS from C$25.00 to C$21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$21.38.

TELUS Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a market cap of C$29.00 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of C$18.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$19.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 199.42, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

TELUS (TSE:T - Get Free Report) NYSE: TU last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported C$0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$5.23 billion for the quarter. TELUS had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 5.47%. Research analysts anticipate that TELUS Co. will post 1.2267985 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Hazel Cynthia Claxton acquired 3,445 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$17.46 per share, with a total value of C$60,149.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$146,716.38. This represents a 69.48% increase in their position. Also, Director David Lawrence Mowat acquired 3,000 shares of TELUS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$17.37 per share, for a total transaction of C$52,110.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 14,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$251,621.82. This trade represents a 26.12% increase in their position. Insiders purchased 258,245 shares of company stock valued at $4,486,022 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

TELUS Company Profile

Telus is one of the Big Three wireless service providers in Canada, with its 9 million mobile phone subscribers nationwide constituting about 30% of the total market. It is the incumbent local exchange carrier in the western Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, where it provides internet, television, and landline phone services. It also has a small wireline presence in eastern Quebec. In recent years Telus has moved to bring fiber to the home over most of its wireline footprint as it upgrades its legacy copper network, leaving it able to compete on more equal footing with cable providers.

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