Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) Position Increased by First Affirmative Financial Network

First Affirmative Financial Network increased its stake in shares of Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,449 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Telefónica were worth $482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TEF. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Telefónica by 8.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 24,854 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Telefónica by 274.0% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 316,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 231,919 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Telefónica during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Telefónica by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 45,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telefónica during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 1.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TEF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Telefónica to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. HSBC raised Telefónica from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Telefónica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Telefónica Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TEF opened at $4.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Telefónica, S.A. has a 12 month low of $3.82 and a 12 month high of $4.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.46.

Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.04. Telefónica had a positive return on equity of 10.10% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. The company had revenue of $11.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Telefónica, S.A. will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefónica Cuts Dividend

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

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.