Vodafone Group (NASDAQ:VOD) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $15.56, but opened at $15.08. Vodafone Group shares last traded at $15.1250, with a volume of 495,571 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut Vodafone Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vodafone Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Vodafone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 31st. New Street Research raised Vodafone Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Vodafone Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $13.13 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $52.38.

Vodafone Group Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Vodafone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.2766 per share. This represents a yield of 376.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vodafone Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VOD. Bayban boosted its stake in Vodafone Group by 6,696.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 2,039 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Vodafone Group by 156.8% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,275 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vodafone Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 81.8% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,651 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the period. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vodafone Group Company Profile

Vodafone Group plc is a British multinational telecommunications company headquartered in London. It provides a wide range of communications services to consumer and enterprise customers, including mobile voice and data, fixed-line broadband, cable and pay-TV, and wholesale network services. The company also offers business-oriented solutions such as cloud and hosting, managed networks, unified communications, and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and platform services.

Vodafone operates through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and partner arrangements across multiple countries, with a particularly large presence in Europe and in several African markets.