Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,210,000 shares, an increase of 24.9% from the April 30th total of 3,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 969,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Down 0.5%

VIV traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.25. 8,380,343 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 967,502. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $11.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Telefônica Brasil has a fifty-two week low of $7.47 and a fifty-two week high of $10.46. The stock has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.72.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.41 billion. Telefônica Brasil had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 9.78%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.6 EPS 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 a positive change from Telefônica Brasil's previous dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Telefônica Brasil's dividend payout ratio is currently 91.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefônica Brasil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 2.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 420,973 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 4.2% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,844,839 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $24,807,000 after purchasing an additional 114,849 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 4.6% during the fourth 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 grew its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,078,200 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $15,690,000 after buying an additional 78,200 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,445,527 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $12,605,000 after buying an additional 385,848 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIV has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays raised Telefônica Brasil from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $23.60 to $23.00 in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.30 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on Telefônica Brasil from $20.80 to $18.40 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.23.

Telefônica Brasil Company Profile

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.