Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Raised to Buy (B-) at Weiss Ratings

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) was upgraded by Weiss Ratings from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

VIV has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Telefonica Brasil from $8.80 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Telefonica Brasil from $11.40 to $12.60 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 price target on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.53.

Telefonica Brasil Trading Down 0.8%

VIV opened at $12.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.36 and its 200-day moving average is $11.95. Telefonica Brasil has a 52-week low of $7.47 and a 52-week high of $12.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. Telefonica Brasil had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 10.13%. Analysts expect that Telefonica Brasil will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonica Brasil

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Telefonica Brasil by 16.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 449,213 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $3,917,000 after purchasing an additional 63,241 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Telefonica Brasil during the first quarter valued at $423,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 45.6% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 612,915 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $5,345,000 after acquiring an additional 191,842 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 36.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,445,527 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $12,605,000 after acquiring an additional 385,848 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 23.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 150,128 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 28,749 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Telefonica 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.