Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Telefônica Brasil from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Telefônica Brasil from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Telefônica Brasil has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $11.17.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Performance

Shares of Telefônica Brasil stock opened at $9.19 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.03. Telefônica Brasil has a one year low of $8.02 and a one year high of $11.43. The company has a market cap of $15.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.79.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.14. Telefônica Brasil had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 7.53%. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefônica Brasil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 1st were paid a $0.0617 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This is an increase from Telefônica Brasil’s previous — dividend of $0.02. Telefônica Brasil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Institutional Trading of Telefônica Brasil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 399,318 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $4,021,000 after purchasing an additional 67,414 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,917,010 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $20,972,000 after acquiring an additional 532,794 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its position in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 1,601,608 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $17,517,000 after acquiring an additional 725,072 shares during the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Telefônica Brasil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,208,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the 1st quarter valued at $650,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

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.