Vodafone Group Public (NASDAQ:VOD) Trading Up 3.6% - Should You Buy?

Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD - Get Free Report) shot up 3.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $8.62 and last traded at $8.67. 3,455,602 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 8,746,690 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Vodafone Group Public from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Vodafone Group Public from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Vodafone Group Public Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $8.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $22.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vodafone Group Public

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VOD. 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 buying an additional 201,360 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Vodafone Group Public by 1,119.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 942,179 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,441,000 after acquiring an additional 864,924 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public in the third quarter valued at about $7,482,000. Goldentree Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 3,283,292 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $32,898,000 after purchasing an additional 60,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich bought a new stake in Vodafone Group Public during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $295,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.84% of the company's stock.

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.