Telefonica Brasil’s (VIV) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Barclays

Barclays restated their equal weight rating on shares of Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $16.00 price objective on the Wireless communications provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $14.50.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VIV. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised Telefonica Brasil from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Telefonica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. UBS Group lowered Telefonica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Telefonica Brasil from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.42.

Telefonica Brasil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VIV opened at $15.37 on Thursday. Telefonica Brasil has a 1-year low of $8.19 and a 1-year high of $16.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $14.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.16. The company has a market capitalization of $25.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.68.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. Telefonica Brasil had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 9.15%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Telefonica Brasil will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonica Brasil

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 431,051 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $3,758,000 after buying an additional 100,315 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Telefonica Brasil during the first quarter valued at $52,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Telefonica Brasil by 337.7% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,233 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 3,266 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Telefonica Brasil by 5.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 54,966 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in Telefonica Brasil in the second quarter worth about $194,000. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Telefonica Brasil

Telefônica Brasil SA, commonly marketed under the Vivo brand, is one of Brazil’s largest telecommunications providers, offering a broad range of consumer and enterprise communications services. The company’s core activities include mobile voice and data services, fixed-line telephony, broadband internet (including fiber-to-the-home), and pay-TV solutions. It also provides ICT and managed services for business customers, such as cloud, data center, connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT) and security solutions.

Vivo operates a nationwide network across Brazil and serves both individual consumers and corporate clients.