Vodafone Group (NASDAQ:VOD) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Vodafone shares reached a new 52‑week high of $16.22 (last $16.15) on Saturday, trading up about 2.2% with roughly 14.7 million shares changing hands.
• Analyst views are mixed — several recent upgrades, but MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $72.00.
• Institutional investors have been adding positions (multiple firms increased stakes) and hedge funds own about 7.84% of the stock; the company reports moderate leverage (debt/equity 0.78) and liquidity ratios around 1.17 (current) and 1.13 (quick).

Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Saturday . The stock traded as high as $16.22 and last traded at $16.15, with a volume of 14702606 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VOD. UBS Group raised Vodafone Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vodafone Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Vodafone Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Vodafone Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vodafone Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Vodafone Group Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Institutional Trading of Vodafone Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dupree Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vodafone Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,097,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Vodafone Group by 274.6% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 193,827 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,248,000 after purchasing an additional 142,086 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in Vodafone Group by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 643,452 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,464,000 after purchasing an additional 95,088 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vodafone Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,408,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vodafone Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,492,000. Hedge funds and other 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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