Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.23.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VIV. Barclays upgraded Telefônica Brasil from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $23.60 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $20.80 to $18.40 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.30 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Telefônica Brasil from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday.

Telefônica Brasil Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of NYSE VIV traded up $0.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $9.97. The company had a trading volume of 277,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,424. The stock has a market cap of $16.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.73. The company's fifty day moving average price is $14.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Telefônica Brasil has a 12 month low of $7.47 and a 12 month high of $10.41.

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

Telefônica Brasil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.043 per share. This is an increase from Telefônica Brasil's previous dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Telefônica Brasil's payout ratio is currently 42.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefônica Brasil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VIV. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Telefônica Brasil by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 15,613,608 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $136,151,000 after purchasing an additional 420,973 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,571,650 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $19,416,000 after purchasing an additional 114,266 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,078,200 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $15,690,000 after buying an additional 78,200 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 36.4% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,275,565 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $9,630,000 after purchasing an additional 31,820 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 5.16% of the company's stock.

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.