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

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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefónica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Telefónica in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Telefónica in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Telefónica during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Traveka Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Telefónica during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Telefónica by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4,252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Telefónica Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of TEF stock opened at $4.02 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.48. 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 1-year low of $3.82 and a 1-year high of $4.93. The firm has a market cap of $22.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.44 and a beta of 0.68.

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 given a $0.1576 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date 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.