Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares have gotten off to a fast start this year and are up more than 6% in the last month.
The stock hit new 52-week highs of $4.23 per share early in the session on Wednesday, March 5.
This surge has likely come on the back of strong earnings season data from the company in February.
As reported by The Motley Fool's James Mickleboro on Monday, there could still be room for growth in this ASX 200 stock.
Goldman Sachs has a buy rating on Telstra shares with a target price of $4.50, implying a 7.14% upside.
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A slow start to the year
A direct competitor of Telstra is TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), which may be on the radar of investors looking to target ASX 200 communication shares.
TPG is the second-largest telecommunications company listed on the ASX by market cap.
However, the telco company has seen its share price fall to start the year. At the time of writing, shares are trading at $4.36 apiece, down 3.75% year to date.
TPG shares did briefly rise following the release of the company's full-year results for FY 2024, before falling over the last week.
When examining TPG more broadly, it has relatively healthy fundamentals.
For the 12 months ended 31 December 2024, TPG reported a 1.5% increase in service revenue and 1.8% growth in its mobile subscriber base.
Its profit also rose 3.5%.
On top of this, the company is expected to pay a healthy 4.06% dividend yield in 2025.
Is TPG going to rise as well?
Last October, TPG announced it was selling its Fiber Network to Vocus Group for $5.25 billion.
According to Reuters, TPG will retain its radio network infrastructure, mobile and fixed retail and wireless businesses.
The deal is expected to free up TPG to create a more focused and streamlined business.
The ACCC will provide a preliminary review on whether TPG can proceed with the deal on March 27th.
This is a key date to monitor for current and potential investors of these ASX 200 communication shares.
Michael Gable from Fairmont Equities commented on the deal when it was announced in October last year that despite the sale, TPG has little upside.
"I just don't think there's a decent amount of upside from here in a market full of other opportunities", Gable said.
Online brokerage platform Selfwealth maintains a hold rating on TPG shares. However, its average price target of $4.93 suggests some room for growth.
Meanwhile, Morgans has a hold rating and a $4.70 price target.
