The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has once again hit a new high watermark. Telstra shares are today on the rise, up 1.46% at the time of writing to $3.48 a share.
That's a pretty decent move, especially if you consider the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gone backwards today. The ASX 200 is currently down 0.39% to 6,977 points today after touching 7,000 points for the first time since the pandemic started last week.
Today's Telstra share price moves continue a recent run of bullish sentiment from investors for the ASX's biggest telco. Telstra is now trading at its highest share price since August 2020. It was only back on 11 March, less than a month ago, that Telstra was asking just $3.06 a share. Back in October last year, Telstra hit a new multi-year low of $2.66. But this company's recovery has been swift and decisive. Since 11 March, Telstra shares are now up more than 13%. Year to date, Telstra has put on 15.5%. And since October 30, almost 30%.
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What's pushing the Telstra share price higher today?
Well, today's moves are not the result of any company-specific news. Telstra's last official market announcement was back on 26 March. And that was a statement discussing Telstra's plan to delist from the New Zealand Stock Exchange. Whilst that may be a blow to our friends across the ditch (and perhaps provoking some good old-fashioned trans-Tasman schadenfreude on ASX investors' part), it's probably not still moving the markets today.
Rather, it seems to be an extension of the momentum the Telstra share price has shown ever since the company announced its proposed legal restructuring last month. If all goes to plan, Telstra will transform into 4 separate divisions by December this year. These will be InfraCo Towers, InfraCo Fixed, ServeCo and Telstra International.
This seems to be the major catalyst that has been pushing the Telstra share price higher of late. To illustrate, Telstra made that announcement on 22 March. Since that date, Telstra shares are up almost 7%.
Many large institutional investors like to look for 'momentum plays'. The idea here is to hitch the proverbial wagon to a company that is enjoying the benefits of a recent pricing catalyst, and 'rising the wave up'. That might be what we are seeing in the Telstra share price of late. It's also possible that some investors are just seeing a stable, blue chip ASX 200 dividend share offering a fully franked grossed-up yield of 6.57% today.
