Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also commented on VIV. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Scotiabank raised their price target on Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.40 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Telefônica Brasil presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.97.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Performance

VIV opened at $9.04 on Thursday. Telefônica Brasil has a 1-year low of $8.02 and a 1-year high of $11.43. The stock has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Telefônica Brasil had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 9.78%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 67,414 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,222,562 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $12,311,000 after acquiring an additional 72,388 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Telefônica Brasil during the 1st quarter worth about $650,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the second quarter worth approximately $842,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in Telefônica Brasil by 14.3% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,206,334 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $18,261,000 after purchasing an additional 275,569 shares during the last quarter. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.