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

Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.60.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VIV. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $13.50 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th.

Telefônica Brasil Price Performance

Shares of VIV opened at $9.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.77. Telefônica Brasil has a 12 month low of $7.87 and a 12 month high of $11.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.28.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter. Telefônica Brasil had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.33%. On average, research analysts forecast that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Telefônica Brasil Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a — dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 1st were issued a $0.0373 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 30th. Telefônica Brasil’s payout ratio is 48.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefônica Brasil

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIV. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,917,010 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $20,972,000 after buying an additional 532,794 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 165.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,856,545 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $20,311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157,304 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 82.7% in the 4th 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 period. Strs Ohio grew its position in Telefônica Brasil by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 700,000 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $7,658,000 after purchasing an additional 220,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new stake in Telefônica Brasil during the 4th quarter valued at $6,208,000. 5.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.