Brokerages Set Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) PT at $136.00

Key Points

• Vodafone Group PLC has received an average rating of "Reduce" from seven rating firms, with two firms recommending a sell, four a hold, and one a buy, while the average 1-year price objective is $136.00.
• Significant institutional investments in Vodafone have been noted, with firms like Arrowstreet Capital increasing their holdings by 22.9% during the second quarter.
• As of the latest report, Vodafone's stock opened at $11.92, having a market cap of $28.97 billion, and a twelve-month trading range between $8.00 and $12.06.

Shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $136.00.

VOD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $136.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Vodafone Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Vodafone Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company.

Institutional Trading of Vodafone Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 27,680,971 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $295,079,000 after acquiring an additional 5,160,095 shares during the last quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 25,866,761 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $275,740,000 after purchasing an additional 169,833 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 116.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,076,148 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $86,092,000 after buying an additional 4,352,389 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 18.7% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,998,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $56,205,000 after buying an additional 944,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,499,770 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,533,000 after buying an additional 69,986 shares in the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vodafone Group Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Vodafone Group stock traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $11.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,050,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,537,580. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $11.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.02. Vodafone Group has a 52 week low of $8.00 and a 52 week high of $12.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $29.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.62.

About Vodafone Group

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company provides telecommunication services in Europe and internationally. It offers mobile connectivity services comprising end-to-end services for mobile voice and data, messaging, device management, BYOx, and telecoms management, as well as professional and consulting services; and fixed line connectivity, such as fixed voice and data, broadband, software-defined networks, managed WAN, LAN, ethernet, and satellite; and financial services, as well as business and merchant services.