Citigroup Initiates Coverage on Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV)

Key Points

• Citigroup has initiated coverage on Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) with a "neutral" rating, indicating a cautious outlook for the stock.
• Goldman Sachs has increased its price target on the stock from $11.40 to $12.60 and rates it a "buy," while Zacks lowered their rating from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• Telefonica Brasil reported a quarterly EPS of $0.15, missing estimates, and has a current average rating of "Hold" with a target price of $12.70.

Citigroup began coverage on shares of Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "neutral" rating on the Wireless communications provider's stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Telefonica Brasil from $11.40 to $12.60 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Telefonica Brasil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telefonica Brasil from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $13.00 price target (up previously from $12.50) on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.70.

Telefonica Brasil Stock Performance

Telefonica Brasil stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.33. 46,160 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,274,725. The firm's fifty day moving average is $11.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.65. The company has a market capitalization of $20.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.81. Telefonica Brasil has a fifty-two week low of $7.47 and a fifty-two week high of $12.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.48 billion. Telefonica Brasil had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 10.13%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Telefonica Brasil will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonica Brasil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Telefonica Brasil by 2.8% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 15,613,608 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $136,151,000 after acquiring an additional 420,973 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,036,349 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in Telefonica Brasil by 3.5% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 3,480,597 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $39,679,000 after acquiring an additional 119,002 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Telefonica Brasil by 4.2% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,844,839 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $24,807,000 after acquiring an additional 114,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Telefonica Brasil by 36.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,445,527 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $12,605,000 after acquiring an additional 385,848 shares during the last quarter. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Telefonica Brasil

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.

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