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

Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on TEF shares. StockNews.com raised Telefónica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. HSBC raised shares of Telefónica from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Telefónica to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Telefónica Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:TEF opened at $4.06 on Wednesday. Telefónica has a one year low of $3.82 and a one year high of $4.93. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $23.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.62 and a beta of 0.66.

Telefónica Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.1576 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.2%. Telefónica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -84.62%.

Institutional Trading of Telefónica

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TEF. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Telefónica by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 64,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Telefónica during the third quarter worth about $121,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Telefónica in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Telefónica by 20.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 178,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 30,738 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC acquired a new position in Telefónica in the third quarter valued at 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.