TELUS (NYSE:TU) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $9.19 and last traded at $9.2050, with a volume of 1292626 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on TU. National Bank Financial lowered TELUS from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of TELUS in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of TELUS from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of TELUS in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of TELUS from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $15.33.

TELUS Trading Up 0.1%

The firm has a market cap of $14.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 21.30 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.96 and its 200-day moving average is $11.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88.

TELUS (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. TELUS had a positive return on equity of 8.01% and a negative net margin of 4.51%. As a group, analysts forecast that TELUS Corporation will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TELUS Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. TELUS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -131.71%.

Institutional Trading of TELUS

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in TELUS by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 21,108,090 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $271,237,000 after purchasing an additional 3,571,734 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of TELUS by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 24,075,122 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $309,159,000 after buying an additional 4,258,557 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of TELUS in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,466,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of TELUS during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,698,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of TELUS by 51.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 360,212 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $4,620,000 after buying an additional 122,274 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.40% of the company’s stock.

TELUS Company Profile

TELUS Corporation is a Canadian telecommunications and technology company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. It provides wireless and wireline communications services, including mobile connectivity, internet, voice, television and home security services, primarily to consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations in Canada.

The company also operates technology-focused businesses outside its traditional telecommunications operations. TELUS Health provides digital health platforms, virtual care, electronic medical records and workplace health solutions.