TELUS (NYSE:TU) Stock Price Crosses Below 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) shares passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.67 and traded as low as $8.63. TELUS shares last traded at $8.6650, with a volume of 4,387,963 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of TELUS in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of TELUS in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on TELUS in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Desjardins cut TELUS from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays set a $10.00 price objective on TELUS and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

TELUS Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $13.77 billion, a PE ratio of -9.22, a PEG ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $8.67 and its 200 day moving average is $11.16.

TELUS (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.01). TELUS had a negative net margin of 10.27% and a positive return on equity of 7.66%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that TELUS Corporation will post 0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TELUS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a C$0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. TELUS’s payout ratio is -56.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TELUS

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TU. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in TELUS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in TELUS by 2.7% in the third quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 282,070 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 7,493 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in TELUS by 18.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 16,370 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in TELUS in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,280,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of TELUS by 657.4% during the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 215,133 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 186,730 shares during the period. 49.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About TELUS

TELUS is a Canadian telecommunications and technology company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Its core services include wireless voice and data, internet, television and home phone offerings, as well as communications and technology solutions for businesses and public-sector organizations. The company also operates TELUS Health, which provides digital health services and technology, and TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods, which offers technology and data solutions for the agriculture and food industries.