Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Coverage Initiated at Citigroup

Equities research analysts at Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating on the Wireless communications provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Telefonica Brasil from $11.40 to $12.60 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (up previously from $12.50) on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.70.

Telefonica Brasil Price Performance

Shares of VIV opened at $12.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.81. Telefonica Brasil has a twelve month low of $7.47 and a twelve month high of $12.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.60.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 billion. Telefonica Brasil had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 8.32%. As a group, analysts predict that Telefonica Brasil will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIV. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 54.8% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,754,523 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $65,602,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036,349 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Telefonica Brasil during the first quarter worth $7,147,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Telefonica Brasil by 283.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 592,234 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $4,471,000 after buying an additional 437,678 shares in the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Telefonica Brasil in the second quarter valued at $4,866,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Telefonica Brasil by 2.8% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 15,613,608 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $136,151,000 after buying an additional 420,973 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Telefonica 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.