Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Stock Rated “Reduce” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Shares of Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.26.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays set a $14.00 price target on shares of Telefonica Brasil and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 target price on Telefonica Brasil in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised Telefonica Brasil from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th.

Telefonica Brasil Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE VIV opened at $11.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Telefonica Brasil has a 52 week low of $10.70 and a 52 week high of $17.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonica Brasil

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 477,011 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $6,277,000 after purchasing an additional 168,185 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 0.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 392,178 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $6,240,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Opal Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil during the first quarter worth approximately $4,255,000. Lesa Sroufe & Co grew its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 2.3% during the first quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 229,279 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $3,648,000 after buying an additional 5,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 17.2% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 222,817 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $3,543,000 after buying an additional 32,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

About Telefonica Brasil

Telefônica Brasil SA is a Brazilian telecommunications company that provides services under the Vivo brand. It is part of the Spanish Telefónica Group and serves consumers, businesses and public-sector customers across Brazil.

Its offerings include mobile voice and data, fixed-line telephone service, broadband internet—including fiber connectivity—and pay television. The company also provides connectivity and digital services for business customers.

Telefônica Brasil traces its origins to the 1998 privatization of Brazil’s telecommunications sector, when Telefónica acquired Telesp, the former state-controlled telephone operator in São Paulo.