Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts hold a consensus “Hold” rating on Vodafone Group, with three sell, four hold, and three buy recommendations. The average 1-year price target is $10.5650.
• Recent analyst views were mixed: Barclays and DZ Bank downgraded the stock, while New Street Research and Goldman Sachs upgraded it to “Buy.”
• Vodafone shares opened at $16.90, near their 52-week high of $17.15, while institutional investors own 7.84% of the company and several funds recently increased their positions.

Shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.5650.

Several brokerages have recently commented on VOD. Barclays downgraded shares of Vodafone Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. New Street Research raised shares of Vodafone Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. DZ Bank cut shares of Vodafone Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Vodafone Group from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday.

Vodafone Group Stock Performance

Shares of VOD stock opened at $16.90 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $15.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.19. Vodafone Group has a one year low of $11.12 and a one year high of $17.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vodafone Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 72.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 866,316 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $13,014,000 after buying an additional 363,694 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 7,003.0% in the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 788,577 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $10,429,000 after acquiring an additional 777,475 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 385.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 85,737 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 68,086 shares during the period. Transmarket Holdings LP boosted its stake in Vodafone Group by 137.3% during the 1st quarter. Transmarket Holdings LP now owns 235,689 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,540,000 after acquiring an additional 136,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi acquired a new position in Vodafone Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,060,000. 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.

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