Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases Shares of 11,672 Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 11,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $47,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Telefónica in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Abel Hall LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telefónica during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Traveka Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Telefónica during the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Telefónica by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Telefónica by 92.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 7,697 shares in the last quarter. 1.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TEF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Telefónica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Telefónica to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, HSBC raised Telefónica from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Telefónica Stock Performance

NYSE TEF opened at $3.91 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.47. Telefónica, S.A. has a twelve month low of $3.82 and a twelve month high of $4.93. The stock has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a PE ratio of -15.02 and a beta of 0.68.

Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.04. Telefónica had a negative net margin of 2.84% and a positive return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $11.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Telefónica, S.A. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Telefónica Cuts Dividend

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

Telefónica 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.