Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.17.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Telefônica Brasil from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Performance

Telefônica Brasil stock opened at $10.08 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $9.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.24. 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 fifty-two week low of $8.02 and a fifty-two week high of $11.43. The company has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 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 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Telefônica Brasil had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 7.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Telefônica Brasil Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a — dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $0.0379 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Telefônica Brasil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefônica Brasil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VIV. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 165.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,856,545 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $20,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157,304 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 82.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 725,072 shares during the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new position in Telefônica Brasil in the fourth quarter worth $6,208,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 38.5% during 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 buying an additional 532,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 96.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 544,019 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $4,466,000 after buying an additional 267,652 shares during the last quarter. 5.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Telefônica Brasil Company Profile

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.