Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD) Short Interest Up 23.4% in March

Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,030,000 shares, a growth of 23.4% from the February 28th total of 12,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 10,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of Vodafone Group Public from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com lowered Vodafone Group Public from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vodafone Group Public has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vodafone Group Public

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VOD. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 34.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 778,068 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,796,000 after purchasing an additional 201,360 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich acquired a new stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public in the 4th quarter worth $295,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 842,286 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,151,000 after buying an additional 67,086 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 27,103 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Vodafone Group Public by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 31,173 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 4,332 shares in the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vodafone Group Public Price Performance

VOD stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $9.37. The stock had a trading volume of 13,415,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,696,932. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Vodafone Group Public has a twelve month low of $8.00 and a twelve month high of $10.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.75. The company's 50-day moving average price is $8.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.02.

About Vodafone Group Public

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company provides telecommunication services in Europe and internationally. It offers mobile connectivity services comprising end-to-end services for mobile voice and data, messaging, device management, BYOx, and telecoms management, as well as professional and consulting services; and fixed line connectivity, such as fixed voice and data, broadband, software-defined networks, managed WAN, LAN, ethernet, and satellite; and financial services, as well as business and merchant services.