Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company.

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

Institutional Trading of Telefónica

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TEF. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Telefónica by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,898,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,229,000 after purchasing an additional 146,259 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Telefónica by 0.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,258,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,300,000 after buying an additional 4,949 shares during the period. Nia Impact Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Telefónica during the second quarter worth approximately $3,645,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Telefónica by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 397,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,600,000 after acquiring an additional 3,688 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Telefónica by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 387,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 76,912 shares during the last quarter. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Telefónica Trading Up 0.4 %

Telefónica stock opened at $4.03 on Friday. 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 has a one year low of $3.82 and a one year high of $4.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.48.

Telefónica Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Telefónica’s payout ratio is currently -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.