Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 487,447 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the previous session’s volume of 763,875 shares.The stock last traded at $3.93 and had previously closed at $3.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Telefónica Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $22.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.13 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.47.

Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Telefónica, S.A. will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefónica Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Telefónica

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Telefónica by 8.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 308,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 24,854 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Telefónica by 274.0% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 316,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 231,919 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telefónica during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Telefónica by 7.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 45,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Telefónica by 20.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 178,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 30,738 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

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.