The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price climbed 1.56% higher to hit a 52-week high on the ASX yesterday despite Goldman Sachs removing the Aussie telco from its conviction list.
What happened to the Telstra share price yesterday?
The Telstra share price closed at $3.90 per share, just shy of its $3.91 per share 52-week high it set during yesterday's trade.
However, a broker note out of Goldman Sachs said that while Telstra remains a buy with an increased price target of $4.20 per share, it has removed Telstra from its conviction list.
This decision was largely based on Telstra's strong share price rally over the last 6 months or so with the Telstra share price climbing 40% higher so far this year to have nearly doubled the S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) index over the same time period.
While the broker noted potential headwinds in the enterprise market for Telstra based on the NBN Co business maturing, the telco's potential $2 billion asset sale program and the current low yield environment remain strong positives for the Aussie telco.
How has Telstra performed relative to its peers?
While the Telstra share price is up more than 40% so far this year, the company has also managed to outperform many of its peers on a year-to-date basis.
The Vocus Group Ltd (ASX: VOC) share price has climbed 5.86% higher so far this year as the smaller telcos have struggled to post capital gains, while rival TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) has seen its share price climb just 8.90%.
The TPG share price climbed higher on news it may be merging with Vodafone's Australian operator, Hutchison Telecommunications (Aus) Ltd (ASX: HTA), but the ACCC scuppered the merger on anti-competition concerns.
In the process of its bid, TPG also announced that it was scrapping its plans for a 5G network of its own to rival Telstra and fellow big player Optus, putting Telstra in a stronger position to capitalise on future network growth.
All in all, the Telstra share price has seen a strong rebound so far this year but still needs momentum to carry it higher, given it remains down 28.3% over the last 5 years, not accounting for dividends.
