Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Stock Rating Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

VIV has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 target price on Telefonica Brasil in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of Telefonica Brasil from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $14.00 target price on shares of Telefonica Brasil and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $14.26.

Telefonica Brasil Stock Performance

Telefonica Brasil stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.03. 954,869 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,766,975. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $11.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.53. Telefonica Brasil has a 1 year low of $10.70 and a 1 year high of $17.25.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 10th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.06. Telefonica Brasil had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Telefonica Brasil will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Telefonica Brasil by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,252 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 5.3% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 16,750 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 51.9% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,971 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,699 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 1.0% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 188,455 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $2,158,000 after buying an additional 1,891 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 74.6% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,547 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Telefonica Brasil

Telefônica Brasil S.A. 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.