Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom (NYSE:TEO) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom (NYSE:TEO) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group set a $17.00 target price on Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $11.93.

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TEO opened at $10.90 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of -31.14 and a beta of 1.22. Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom has a fifty-two week low of $6.43 and a fifty-two week high of $13.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom (NYSE:TEO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The utilities provider reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.13. Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom had a negative net margin of 2.55% and a negative return on equity of 2.64%. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a dividend of $0.0452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TEO. RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 669,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,870,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,725,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 233,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after acquiring an additional 36,642 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom by 317.8% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 204,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 155,299 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom by 34.2% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 149,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,322,000 after acquiring an additional 38,107 shares during the last quarter.

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom Company Profile

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom (NYSE:TEO) is an integrated telecommunications provider based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Originally formed through the 1990 privatization of the state-owned Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (ENTel), the company was initially backed by Italian state carrier STET and French operator France Télécom. Since its listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker TEO, Telecom Argentina has evolved into one of the country’s principal communications groups, offering a comprehensive portfolio of voice and data services.

The company’s core business activities span fixed-line telephony, mobile services, broadband internet and digital television.