Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Bradesco Corretora cut shares of Telefonica Brasil to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays set a $16.50 target price on Telefonica Brasil and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered Telefonica Brasil from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Telefonica Brasil from $15.30 to $15.70 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Telefonica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.16.

Telefonica Brasil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VIV opened at $14.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.63. Telefonica Brasil has a 12 month low of $9.41 and a 12 month high of $17.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.02). Telefonica Brasil had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 9.32%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. Analysts expect that Telefonica Brasil will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonica Brasil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VIV. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Telefonica Brasil by 138.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,856,618 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $36,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,475 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Telefonica Brasil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,192,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Telefonica Brasil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,211,000. Carrera Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 2,420.5% during the 3rd quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 344,055 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $4,387,000 after purchasing an additional 330,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 477.6% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 392,232 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $5,001,000 after purchasing an additional 324,319 shares in the last quarter. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Telefonica Brasil Company Profile

Telefônica Brasil SA, commonly marketed under the Vivo brand, is one of Brazil’s largest telecommunications providers, offering a broad range of consumer and enterprise communications services. The company’s core activities include mobile voice and data services, fixed-line telephony, broadband internet (including fiber-to-the-home), and pay-TV solutions. It also provides ICT and managed services for business customers, such as cloud, data center, connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT) and security solutions.

Vivo operates a nationwide network across Brazil and serves both individual consumers and corporate clients.