Vodafone Group (NASDAQ:VOD) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vodafone Group (NASDAQ:VOD) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

VOD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Berenberg Bank raised Vodafone Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays raised shares of Vodafone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Vodafone Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $72.00.

Vodafone Group Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of VOD traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $13.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,203,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,653,592. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average is $12.65 and its 200-day moving average is $11.86. Vodafone Group has a 52-week low of $8.00 and a 52-week high of $13.99.

Vodafone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $0.2567 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. This represents a yield of 434.0%.

Institutional Trading of Vodafone Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VOD. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 26,041 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 1,568 shares during the period. Brucke Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Vodafone Group by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 19,961 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vodafone Group in the fourth quarter worth about $331,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,312 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 9,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.84% of the company’s stock.

Vodafone Group Company Profile

Vodafone Group plc is a British multinational telecommunications company headquartered in London. It provides a wide range of communications services to consumer and enterprise customers, including mobile voice and data, fixed-line broadband, cable and pay-TV, and wholesale network services. The company also offers business-oriented solutions such as cloud and hosting, managed networks, unified communications, and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and platform services.

Vodafone operates through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and partner arrangements across multiple countries, with a particularly large presence in Europe and in several African markets.