Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.97.

A number of research firms recently commented on VIV. StockNews.com raised shares of Telefônica Brasil from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Telefônica Brasil from $10.40 to $9.20 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Telefônica Brasil from $10.60 to $9.20 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays raised Telefônica Brasil from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $11.80 to $11.50 in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Telefônica Brasil by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 15,192,635 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $114,704,000 after buying an additional 1,053,218 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Telefônica Brasil by 283.2% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 592,234 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $4,471,000 after purchasing an additional 437,678 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 151.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 686,792 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $5,185,000 after buying an additional 414,193 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 912,148 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $6,887,000 after acquiring an additional 367,975 shares during the period. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Telefônica Brasil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,749,000. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VIV opened at $8.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.76 and a 200 day moving average of $8.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $14.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.60. Telefônica Brasil has a 52 week low of $7.47 and a 52 week high of $10.41.

Remove Ads

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. Telefônica Brasil had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 9.78%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telefônica Brasil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.0215 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This is an increase from Telefônica Brasil's previous dividend of $0.02. Telefônica Brasil's payout ratio is presently 49.18%.

About Telefônica 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.