Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on VIV. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Telefônica Brasil from $10.60 to $9.20 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.40 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $11.50 to $11.80 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, New Street Research cut shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.47.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Performance

VIV stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $7.76. The company had a trading volume of 765,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,118,245. Telefônica Brasil has a 12 month low of $7.47 and a 12 month high of $11.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $8.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.97. The firm has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.03. Telefônica Brasil had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 9.78%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefônica Brasil

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 67.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,818 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 50.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,518 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 21,235 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 3.1% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 65,781 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Telefônica Brasil by 5.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,321 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 2,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 40,462 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 3,820 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Telefônica Brasil Company Profile

Telefônica Brasil SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mobile telecommunications company in Brazil. Its fixed line services portfolio includes local, domestic long-distance, and international long-distance calls; and mobile portfolio comprises voice and broadband internet access through 3G, 4G, 4.5G, and 5G, as well as mobile value-added and wireless roaming services.