Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Telefonica Brasil from $15.30 to $15.70 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays set a $16.50 price target on shares of Telefonica Brasil and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Bradesco Corretora downgraded shares of Telefonica Brasil to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.16.

Telefonica Brasil Stock Performance

Shares of VIV stock opened at $14.02 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.21. Telefonica Brasil has a 52 week low of $9.41 and a 52 week high of $17.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.02). Telefonica Brasil had a return on equity of 9.32% and a net margin of 10.49%.The company had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Telefonica Brasil will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Telefonica Brasil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.4562 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Telefonica Brasil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonica Brasil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 337.7% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,233 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Arax Advisory Partners lifted its holdings in Telefonica Brasil by 54.4% during the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 3,773 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Telefonica Brasil during the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Telefonica Brasil by 214.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Telefonica Brasil during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Telefonica Brasil Company Profile

Telefônica Brasil SA, commonly marketed under the Vivo brand, is one of Brazil’s largest telecommunications providers, offering a broad range of consumer and enterprise communications services. The company’s core activities include mobile voice and data services, fixed-line telephony, broadband internet (including fiber-to-the-home), and pay-TV solutions. It also provides ICT and managed services for business customers, such as cloud, data center, connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT) and security solutions.

Vivo operates a nationwide network across Brazil and serves both individual consumers and corporate clients.