Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD) Short Interest Up 25.0% in December

Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,450,000 shares, an increase of 25.0% from the November 30th total of 5,160,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Vodafone Group Public from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vodafone Group Public has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vodafone Group Public

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Vodafone Group Public by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 778,068 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,796,000 after acquiring an additional 201,360 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 1,119.6% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 942,179 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,441,000 after purchasing an additional 864,924 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public during the third quarter worth about $7,482,000. Goldentree Asset Management LP lifted its stake in Vodafone Group Public by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 3,283,292 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $32,898,000 after buying an additional 60,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clifford Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Vodafone Group Public by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,012,210 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $17,848,000 after buying an additional 465,802 shares during the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vodafone Group Public Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VOD traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.43. 7,551,491 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,255,521. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.29. Vodafone Group Public has a twelve month low of $8.02 and a twelve month high of $10.39. The firm has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.77.

Vodafone Group Public Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.2423 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a yield of 8%. Vodafone Group Public's payout ratio is 42.86%.

Vodafone Group Public Company Profile

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.