Catalina Capital Group LLC Lowers Stake in Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF)

Catalina Capital Group LLC cut its stake in Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,541 shares during the quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Telefónica were worth $62,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Telefónica by 192.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 63,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 41,810 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Telefónica in the second quarter worth $228,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Telefónica by 92.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 7,697 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Telefónica by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 49,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 10,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in shares of Telefónica by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 101,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 23,737 shares in the last quarter. 1.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Telefónica Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Telefónica stock opened at $4.03 on Wednesday. Telefónica, S.A. has a 12-month low of $3.82 and a 12-month high of $4.93. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.45. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $22.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.48 and a beta of 0.68.

Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $11.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11 billion. Analysts predict that Telefónica, S.A. will post 0.3 EPS for the current year.

Telefónica Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a yield of 5.2%. Telefónica’s dividend payout ratio is currently -84.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Telefónica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Telefónica currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Telefónica 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.