Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Telefonica Brasil from $15.30 to $15.70 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group cut shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. New Street Research raised shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Bradesco Corretora lowered shares of Telefonica Brasil to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays set a $16.50 price target on Telefonica Brasil and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.16.

Telefonica Brasil Price Performance

NYSE:VIV opened at $14.26 on Wednesday. Telefonica Brasil has a 52-week low of $9.41 and a 52-week high of $17.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.83 and a 200 day moving average of $14.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.63.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Telefonica Brasil had a return on equity of 9.32% and a net margin of 10.49%. On average, research analysts expect that Telefonica Brasil will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefonica Brasil Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Telefonica Brasil

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIV. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Telefonica Brasil in the first quarter worth about $121,000. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Telefonica Brasil by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 16,750 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Telefonica Brasil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,277,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates increased its stake in Telefonica Brasil by 39.6% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 179,712 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 51,010 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Telefonica Brasil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Telefonica Brasil

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.