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

Shares of Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company.

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

Telefónica Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of TEF stock opened at $4.21 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Telefónica has a 1 year low of $3.82 and a 1 year high of $4.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.17 and a beta of 0.68.

Telefónica Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Telefónica by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 391,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Telefónica by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 3,246 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Telefónica by 383.0% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 259,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 205,558 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Telefónica during the 4th quarter worth $94,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Telefónica in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Institutional investors own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

About Telefónica

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.