Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom (NYSE:TEO) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom S.A. (NYSE:TEO) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $13.58 and last traded at $12.98, with a volume of 76024 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TEO shares. UBS Group set a $17.00 price target on Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $11.93.

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.36 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.02.

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom (NYSE:TEO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The utilities provider reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom had a negative net margin of 2.55% and a negative return on equity of 2.64%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom S.A. will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a dividend of $0.0452 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom’s payout ratio is presently -11.43%.

Institutional Trading of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TEO. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom by 93.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 61,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 29,569 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom during the third quarter valued at $98,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom by 317.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 204,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 155,299 shares during the period. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,725,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom by 18.6% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 233,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 36,642 shares during the period.

About Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom

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.