Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VOD. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays raised shares of Vodafone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Vodafone Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Vodafone Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday.

Vodafone Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ VOD opened at $14.17 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.92 and a 200 day moving average of $12.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Vodafone Group has a twelve month low of $8.00 and a twelve month high of $14.17.

Vodafone Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vodafone Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VOD. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vodafone Group by 21.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 66,351 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 11,703 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Vodafone Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 296,581 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,779,000 after purchasing an additional 5,592 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,830 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3,435 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 183.6% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,567 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 4,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vodafone Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $371,000. 7.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.