Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.13.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VIV shares. Itau BBA Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Telefônica Brasil in a research note on Friday, September 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Telefônica Brasil in a research report on Tuesday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $10.00 to $11.40 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th.

Telefônica Brasil Price Performance

NYSE:VIV opened at $10.27 on Thursday. Telefônica Brasil has a 1-year low of $6.49 and a 1-year high of $10.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.66.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter. Telefônica Brasil had a net margin of 8.93% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefônica Brasil Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a — dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 1st were issued a dividend of $0.0273 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 1st. Telefônica Brasil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefônica Brasil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 4.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,605 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 258.3% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 515,220 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $4,405,000 after purchasing an additional 371,437 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 1.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 74,047 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Telefônica Brasil in the third quarter valued at about $1,499,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new position in Telefônica Brasil in the third quarter valued at about $118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Telefônica Brasil Company Profile

Telefônica Brasil SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mobile telecommunications company in Brazil. Its fixed line services portfolio includes local, domestic long-distance, and international long-distance calls; and mobile portfolio comprises voice and broadband internet access through 3G, 4G, 4.5G, and 5G, as well as mobile value-added and wireless roaming services.