Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $20.80 to $18.40 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $23.60 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.30 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.23.

Telefônica Brasil Price Performance

Shares of Telefônica Brasil stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.25. The stock had a trading volume of 8,380,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,934. The firm has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.72. Telefônica Brasil has a 12 month low of $7.47 and a 12 month high of $10.46. The business's 50-day moving average is $11.53 and its 200 day moving average is $15.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.01). Telefônica Brasil had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Telefônica Brasil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $0.043 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This is a boost from Telefônica Brasil's previous dividend of $0.02. Telefônica Brasil's payout ratio is presently 91.80%.

Institutional Trading of Telefônica Brasil

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the 1st quarter worth about $423,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 337.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,233 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 3,266 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the 1st quarter worth about $7,147,000. Ascent Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the 1st quarter worth about $158,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the 1st quarter worth about $52,000. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Telefônica 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.