Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Upgraded to Overweight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $11.50 target price on the Wireless communications provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $11.80.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. New Street Research lowered Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered Telefônica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on 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 lowered their price objective on Telefônica Brasil from $10.40 to $9.20 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.97.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Performance

VIV opened at $8.39 on Monday. Telefônica Brasil has a 52-week low of $7.47 and a 52-week high of $10.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $13.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $8.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.95.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. Telefônica Brasil had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 9.78%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefônica Brasil

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VIV. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 264,413 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after buying an additional 77,005 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,171,789 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $12,034,000 after buying an additional 385,207 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 15,192,635 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $114,704,000 after buying an additional 1,053,218 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Telefônica Brasil during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,135,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 67.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,818 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,543 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.