Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) Lowered to “Neutral” Rating by Citigroup

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) was downgraded by Citigroup to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on TEF. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Telefonica in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $4.20 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Telefonica to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telefonica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Telefonica in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $4.20.

Telefonica Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE TEF opened at $4.18 on Monday. 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 has a 12-month low of $3.89 and a 12-month high of $5.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $4.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.27.

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $10.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Telefonica will post 0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonica

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Telefonica by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 22,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 3,924 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonica by 68.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 23,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 9,521 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Telefonica by 1.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 305,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 5,480 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Telefonica by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 88,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 20,482 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Telefonica by 84.1% during the 1st 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. Institutional investors own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Telefonica Company Profile

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.