Vest Financial LLC Increases Position in TELUS Co. (NYSE:TU)

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of TELUS Co. (NYSE:TU) (TSE:T) by 49.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 95,944 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,604 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in TELUS were worth $1,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new position in TELUS in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. acquired a new position in shares of TELUS during the 4th quarter worth about $146,000. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas raised its position in shares of TELUS by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 44,909 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 5,988 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of TELUS by 121.2% during the 4th quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 31,610 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 17,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its position in shares of TELUS by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,980 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. 49.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TELUS Price Performance

Shares of TU opened at $16.34 on Friday. TELUS Co. has a twelve month low of $13.24 and a twelve month high of $17.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.34, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

TELUS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2989 per share. This is a positive change from TELUS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. TELUS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 201.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on TU shares. Cormark downgraded shares of TELUS from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of TELUS in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of TELUS from $20.25 to $21.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of TELUS from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of TELUS from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.50.

TELUS Company Profile

TELUS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of telecommunications and information technology products and services in Canada. It operates through Technology Solutions and Digitally-Led Customer Experiences segments. The Technology Solutions segment offers a range of telecommunications products and services; network services; healthcare services; mobile technologies equipment; data services, such as internet protocol; television; hosting, managed information technology, and cloud-based services; software, data management, and data analytics-driven smart food-chain and consumer goods technologies; home and business security; healthcare software and technology solutions; and voice and other telecommunications services, as well as mobile and fixed voice and data telecommunications services and products.