Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Trading Down 5% – Here’s Why

Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) fell 5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $13.42 and last traded at $13.3870. 87,149 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 970,242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on VIV. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a research note on Monday. They issued a “sell” rating and a $13.90 price objective for the company. New Street Research raised shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Telefonica Brasil presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $14.42.

Telefonica Brasil Stock Down 5.0%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $15.62 and its 200-day moving average is $14.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.63.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Telefonica Brasil S.A. will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Telefonica Brasil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.4562 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Telefonica Brasil’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Institutional Trading of Telefonica Brasil

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VIV. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 337.7% during the 1st 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 position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 54.4% during the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 3,773 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,330 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 214.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 3,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

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.