TELUS (NYSE:TU) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of TELUS Co. (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $13.74 and last traded at $13.87, with a volume of 4863981 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of TELUS from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank upgraded TELUS from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on TELUS in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, National Bank Financial cut TELUS from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

TELUS Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $20.79 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.49 and a 200-day moving average of $15.89.

TELUS (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. TELUS had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that TELUS Co. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TELUS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.297 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.57%. This is a positive change from TELUS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. TELUS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 253.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TELUS in the 3rd quarter worth $320,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in TELUS by 8.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,335,660 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $40,238,000 after purchasing an additional 177,953 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in TELUS by 13.5% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,666,500 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $44,785,000 after purchasing an additional 317,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in TELUS by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 467,148 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $7,839,000 after purchasing an additional 129,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in TELUS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,509,000. 49.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About TELUS

TELUS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of telecommunications and information technology products and services in Canada. It operates through Technology Solutions and Digitally-Led Customer Experiences segments. The Technology Solutions segment offers a range of telecommunications products and services; network services; healthcare services; mobile technologies equipment; data services, such as internet protocol; television; hosting, managed information technology, and cloud-based services; software, data management, and data analytics-driven smart food-chain and consumer goods technologies; home and business security; healthcare software and technology solutions; and voice and other telecommunications services, as well as mobile and fixed voice and data telecommunications services and products.