Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on VIV. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $20.80 to $18.40 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.30 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Telefônica Brasil from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $23.60 to $23.00 in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.23.

Telefônica Brasil Price Performance

Shares of VIV stock opened at $9.61 on Friday. Telefônica Brasil has a 12 month low of $7.47 and a 12 month high of $10.41. The company has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.02. 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Telefônica Brasil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.043 per share. This is a boost from Telefônica Brasil’s previous dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Telefônica Brasil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in Telefônica Brasil by 39.3% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,783 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 67.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,818 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,543 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Telefônica Brasil by 86.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,169 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 337.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,233 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Telefônica Brasil in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 5.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.