TELUS (NYSE:TU) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of TELUS (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Bank of America currently has $16.00 price objective on the Wireless communications provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $14.50.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets downgraded TELUS from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of TELUS in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Barclays cut their target price on TELUS from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of TELUS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of TELUS in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TELUS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.63.

TELUS Price Performance

Shares of TU opened at $13.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.29. TELUS has a fifty-two week low of $12.54 and a fifty-two week high of $16.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.34, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.68.

TELUS (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. TELUS had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 8.42%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that TELUS will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TELUS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $0.4184 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.7%. TELUS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 236.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in TELUS in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of TELUS by 320.0% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,712 shares in the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA raised its position in shares of TELUS by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 2,473 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in TELUS in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in TELUS by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,926 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. 49.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TELUS Company Profile

TELUS Corporation (NYSE: TU) is a Canadian telecommunications and technology company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. It delivers a broad portfolio of consumer and business communications services across Canada, including mobile wireless, fixed-line voice, broadband internet, and television. TELUS also provides a range of enterprise services such as cloud and IT solutions, managed network services, cybersecurity and Internet of Things (IoT) offerings for business customers.

Beyond core connectivity, TELUS has expanded into health and digital services.