Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company.

Several brokerages have weighed in on VOD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. DZ Bank upgraded Vodafone Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Vodafone Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vodafone Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $285,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 512.8% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,396,305 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $13,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168,435 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 19.7% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,830 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3,435 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Vodafone Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 296,581 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,779,000 after purchasing an additional 5,592 shares during the period. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 8.8% in the first quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 44,855 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares during the period. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vodafone Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ VOD remained flat at $10.04 during midday trading on Friday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,406,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,787,769. The stock has a market cap of $24.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 0.58. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $9.71 and a 200-day moving average of $9.06. Vodafone Group has a 52-week low of $8.00 and a 52-week high of $10.60.

Vodafone Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.2355 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Vodafone Group's dividend payout ratio is 41.23%.

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.