Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Telefónica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Telefónica Stock Performance

Shares of TEF opened at $4.09 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $23.16 billion, a PE ratio of -15.71 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.45. Telefónica has a 12-month low of $3.82 and a 12-month high of $4.93.

Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $11.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11 billion. Telefónica had a positive return on equity of 10.10% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Telefónica will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telefónica Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.1576 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a yield of 5.2%. Telefónica’s payout ratio is -84.62%.

Institutional Trading of Telefónica

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TEF. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Telefónica in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Drive Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Telefónica in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Telefónica in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in Telefónica in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Abel Hall LLC purchased a new position in Telefónica in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Telefónica Company Profile

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.