Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.60.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VIV shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Telefônica Brasil from $11.50 to $11.80 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Telefônica Brasil from $10.60 to $9.20 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.40 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. New Street Research lowered shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Telefônica Brasil Trading Up 1.3 %

VIV stock opened at $7.65 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.98. Telefônica Brasil has a fifty-two week low of $7.47 and a fifty-two week high of $11.43. The firm has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Telefônica Brasil had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 7.77%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Telefônica Brasil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,967,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,135,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 49.0% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,171,789 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $12,034,000 after purchasing an additional 385,207 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 14.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 96.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 544,019 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $4,466,000 after purchasing an additional 267,652 shares during the period. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.