TIM (NYSE:TIMB) Rating Lowered to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded TIM (NYSE:TIMB) from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, analysts maintain an average target price of $21.25 for TIM, indicating mixed opinions with some analysts issuing hold ratings.
• Recent performance shows TIM stock opened at $21.28 with a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, and it recently reported an EPS of $0.35, above the consensus estimate.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of TIM (NYSE:TIMB - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on TIMB. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of TIM from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on TIM from $22.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. HSBC lowered TIM to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of TIM from $19.10 to $23.60 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of TIM from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.25.

TIM Price Performance

TIMB stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.82. 245,605 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 506,309. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88. TIM has a twelve month low of $11.32 and a twelve month high of $21.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.62. The company has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.69.

TIM (NYSE:TIMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.04. TIM had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.62 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that TIM will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TIM Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $0.1189 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 720.0%. TIM's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TIM

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of TIM by 10.8% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,482,294 shares of the company's stock worth $70,029,000 after buying an additional 339,384 shares in the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. boosted its stake in shares of TIM by 1,302.9% during the first quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. now owns 260,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,084,000 after purchasing an additional 242,333 shares during the period. Altman Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of TIM during the first quarter valued at $1,979,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TIM by 26.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 445,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,961,000 after purchasing an additional 93,179 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in TIM in the fourth quarter worth about $949,000.

About TIM

TIM SA, a telecommunications company, provides mobile voice, data, and broadband services in Brazil. The company offers in mobile, landline, long-distance, and data transmission services. It also offers fixed ultra-broadband, fixed ultraband broadband, and digital content services. The company serves individuals and corporates, as well as small, medium, and large companies.