Vodafone Group (NASDAQ:VOD) Upgraded by Berenberg Bank to Buy Rating

Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Vodafone Group (NASDAQ:VOD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

VOD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays upgraded Vodafone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Vodafone Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $72.00.

Vodafone Group Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VOD opened at $13.97 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Vodafone Group has a 52-week low of $8.00 and a 52-week high of $13.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $12.50 and a 200 day moving average of $11.77.

Vodafone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be issued a $0.2567 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. This represents a yield of 434.0%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vodafone Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Vodafone Group by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 27,680,971 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $295,079,000 after purchasing an additional 5,160,095 shares during the period. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 26,095,086 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $302,703,000 after purchasing an additional 228,325 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 116.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,076,148 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $86,092,000 after buying an additional 4,352,389 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Vodafone Group by 9.1% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,331,144 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $85,041,000 after buying an additional 610,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,518,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $64,010,000 after buying an additional 76,534 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.84% of the company’s stock.

Vodafone Group Company Profile

Vodafone Group plc is a British multinational telecommunications company headquartered in London. It provides a wide range of communications services to consumer and enterprise customers, including mobile voice and data, fixed-line broadband, cable and pay-TV, and wholesale network services. The company also offers business-oriented solutions such as cloud and hosting, managed networks, unified communications, and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and platform services.

Vodafone operates through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and partner arrangements across multiple countries, with a particularly large presence in Europe and in several African markets.