StockNews.com Downgrades Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

VIV has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays cut their target price on Telefônica Brasil from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Telefônica Brasil from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Telefônica Brasil currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $11.17.

Telefônica Brasil Price Performance

VIV stock opened at $8.75 on Wednesday. Telefônica Brasil has a 1 year low of $8.02 and a 1 year high of $11.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $8.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.52. The firm has a market cap of $14.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.79.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14. Telefônica Brasil had a return on equity of 7.53% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telefônica Brasil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 1st were issued a dividend of $0.0617 per share. This is an increase from Telefônica Brasil’s previous — dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.3%. Telefônica Brasil’s payout ratio is presently 46.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIV. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Telefônica Brasil by 20.3% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 399,318 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $4,021,000 after buying an additional 67,414 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,917,010 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $20,972,000 after buying an additional 532,794 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 1,601,608 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $17,517,000 after buying an additional 725,072 shares during the period. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in Telefônica Brasil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,208,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Telefônica Brasil in the first quarter valued at approximately $650,000. Institutional investors own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

About Telefônica Brasil

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.