Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

VIV has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Telefonica Brasil from $11.40 to $12.60 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Zacks Research cut shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Telefonica Brasil in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Telefonica Brasil from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 target price on Telefonica Brasil in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.90.

Telefonica Brasil Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE VIV traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.58. The company had a trading volume of 771,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,166,605. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.76. Telefonica Brasil has a 1-year low of $7.47 and a 1-year high of $12.97.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.03. Telefonica Brasil had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.01 billion. On average, analysts predict that Telefonica Brasil will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIV. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Telefonica Brasil during the 1st quarter worth about $423,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 16.4% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 449,213 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $3,917,000 after buying an additional 63,241 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Telefonica Brasil by 45.6% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 612,915 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $5,345,000 after acquiring an additional 191,842 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Telefonica Brasil by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,445,527 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $12,605,000 after acquiring an additional 385,848 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Telefonica Brasil by 23.7% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

About Telefonica Brasil

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.