Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company.

Several equities analysts have commented on VOD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. DZ Bank upgraded Vodafone Group Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America lowered Vodafone Group Public from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Vodafone Group Public in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Institutional Trading of Vodafone Group Public

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VOD. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 3,159 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Vodafone Group Public during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 116,833.3% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,508 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3,505 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,881 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in Vodafone Group Public by 258.0% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 5,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 3,733 shares in the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vodafone Group Public Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of VOD stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 25,395,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,159,803. The company has a market capitalization of $26.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.61. Vodafone Group Public has a 1-year low of $8.00 and a 1-year high of $10.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $9.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.91.

Vodafone Group Public Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.2355 dividend. This represents a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Vodafone Group Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.47%.

About Vodafone Group Public

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.