Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on VIV. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $11.50 to $11.80 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. New Street Research downgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $10.60 to $9.20 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.40 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.47.

Telefônica Brasil Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of VIV traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $7.76. 765,127 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,118,245. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, 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 current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Telefônica Brasil has a fifty-two week low of $7.47 and a fifty-two week high of $11.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.39 and a 200-day moving average of $8.97.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.03. Telefônica Brasil had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.18 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefônica Brasil

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 67.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,818 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 87.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,026 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 2,812 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Telefônica Brasil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $134,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,094 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 3,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the third quarter valued at approximately $160,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

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.