Vodafone Group (NASDAQ:VOD) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Vodafone Group from “hold” to “strong sell,” while the broader analyst consensus is “Reduce” with a $10.57 target price.
• Other analysts have also turned cautious: Bank of America cut the stock to “underperform,” Barclays lowered it to “equal weight,” and Weiss Ratings maintained a sell rating, although several firms issued buy ratings.
• Vodafone shares opened at $16.95, near the upper end of their 12-month range of $11.12 to $17.71. Hedge funds and institutional investors own 7.84% of the company.

Vodafone Group (NASDAQ:VOD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $13.13 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays cut shares of Vodafone Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vodafone Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, New Street Research upgraded Vodafone Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $10.57.

Vodafone Group Stock Performance

VOD opened at $16.95 on Thursday. Vodafone Group has a 12 month low of $11.12 and a 12 month high of $17.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vodafone Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC increased its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 26,854,952 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $403,361,000 after acquiring an additional 784,305 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,286,509 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $201,935,000 after purchasing an additional 182,574 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Vodafone Group by 9,637.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,902,486 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $117,602,000 after purchasing an additional 8,811,061 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA increased its holdings in Vodafone Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 3,326,511 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $49,964,000 after purchasing an additional 98,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Vodafone Group by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,446,646 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $19,110,000 after purchasing an additional 89,434 shares during the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vodafone Group

Vodafone Group Plc is a British multinational telecommunications company that provides mobile and fixed-line connectivity, broadband, voice, messaging and related digital services. Its offerings serve individual consumers, households, businesses and public-sector organizations, with services delivered through local Vodafone operations and partner networks.

The company also provides enterprise communications and technology solutions, including cloud and hosting services, cybersecurity, the Internet of Things, unified communications and managed connectivity.

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