First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in TELUS Corporation $TU

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of TELUS Corporation (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,478,636 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after buying an additional 743,471 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.49% of TELUS worth $117,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TU. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of TELUS by 1.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 779,692 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $11,181,000 after acquiring an additional 11,900 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in TELUS by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 549,012 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $8,815,000 after purchasing an additional 74,958 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in TELUS in the 2nd quarter valued at $294,000. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in TELUS in the 2nd quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in TELUS by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 22,242 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.40% of the company’s stock.

TELUS Price Performance

Shares of TU stock opened at $13.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $21.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $13.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.35. TELUS Corporation has a 12 month low of $12.54 and a 12 month high of $16.74.

TELUS (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. TELUS had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 8.42%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. Analysts predict that TELUS Corporation will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

TELUS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.4184 dividend. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. TELUS’s payout ratio is 234.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of TELUS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TELUS in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of TELUS to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, National Bank Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TELUS in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.17.

TELUS 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.