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

Shares of Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefónica

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Telefónica by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 115,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 20,393 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Telefónica by 10.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 94,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 8,969 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in Telefónica by 25.4% during the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 34,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 6,886 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Telefónica during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Telefónica by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,258,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,300,000 after acquiring an additional 4,949 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Telefónica Stock Performance

NYSE:TEF opened at $3.95 on Friday. Telefónica has a twelve month low of $3.82 and a twelve month high of $4.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.19 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.49.

Telefónica Cuts Dividend

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

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.