The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that Telus shares sank Friday after a downgrade by Bank of America over concerns about its high leverage and dividend payout goals. The Globe's Irene Galea writes that earlier in the day, BofA downgraded Telus from a buy to a neutral rating, and its price target from $24 to $22. The company's share price closed down 4.7 per cent in Toronto at $19.99. BofA analyst Matthew Griffiths said the concerns rested on Telus's leverage, a dividend greater than free cash flow and a free cash flow figure that includes revenue from subsidiary Telus Digital that does not contribute to dividend payments. "Given its challenges and current premium valuation, we believe the stock is fairly valued at current levels," BofA said in its report. In February, Veritas Investment Research pointed out that Telus consolidates its results with Telus Digital, in which it has a 58-per-cent stake. That means the subsidiary's free cash flow of about $400-million is lumped in with Telus's free cash flow, despite that amount not historically being available to pay the parent company's dividends. As a result, the company's 2024 payout ratio was 140 per cent, rising to 148 per cent in 2025.