Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Strong-Buy”

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

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on VIV. Morgan Stanley upgraded Telefônica Brasil from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Telefônica Brasil from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $11.17.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Performance

Shares of VIV stock opened at $9.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.54 and a 200 day moving average of $9.47. Telefônica Brasil has a 1 year low of $8.02 and a 1 year high of $11.43.

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

Telefônica Brasil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a — dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 29th. Investors of record on Friday, January 1st were paid a $0.0617 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This is a positive change from Telefônica Brasil’s previous — dividend of $0.02. This represents a yield of 3.3%. Telefônica Brasil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 330,000 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $3,323,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 15,264 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 75,756 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 2,292 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 50,378 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,953 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,853 shares in the last quarter. 5.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.