TELUS CORP. $39 - Toronto symbol T

TELUS CORP. $39 (Toronto symbol T; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 623.4 million; Market cap: $24.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.telus.com) gets 54% of its revenue from its 7.8 million wireless subscribers across Canada. It also has 3.3 million phone customers, 1.4 million highspeed Internet users and 815,000 TV subscribers.

The company spent $1.14 billion on new spectrum in the recent auction. That will let it expand its high-speed wireless network to reach 97% of Canada’s population, up from 80% now.

Meanwhile, strong demand for wireless and high-speed Internet continues to offset weaker revenue from its land line business. Telus earned $1.4 billion in 2013, up 13.4% from $1.2 billion in 2012. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share gained 15.5%, to $2.16 from $1.87. Revenue rose 4.4%, to $11.4 billion from $10.9 billion.

The company expects its revenue to rise 4% to 6% in 2014. That should increase its earnings to $2.35 a share, and the stock trades at a somewhat high 16.6 times that forecast. The $1.44 dividend yields 3.7%.

Telus is a hold.

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