Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 1,998,942 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 177% from the previous session’s volume of 720,788 shares.The stock last traded at $4.2150 and had previously closed at $4.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TEF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Telefonica in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lowered shares of Telefonica to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $3.83 price target on shares of Telefonica in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Telefonica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Telefonica in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $4.20 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $4.02.

Telefonica Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $23.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.02. Telefonica had a positive return on equity of 8.54% and a negative net margin of 5.23%.The business had revenue of $10.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9 billion. Research analysts expect that Telefonica SA will post 0.3 EPS for the current year.

Telefonica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be given a $0.1731 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 827.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 17th. Telefonica’s payout ratio is currently -60.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonica

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Telefonica by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 22,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 3,924 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Telefonica by 1.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 305,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 5,480 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Telefonica by 30.2% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 88,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 20,482 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Telefonica by 84.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 52,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 23,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Telefonica by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,487,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,932,000 after purchasing an additional 57,945 shares during the last quarter. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Telefonica

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.