Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.42.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Telefonica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Barclays lowered shares of Telefonica Brasil from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $14.50 to $16.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group cut shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock.

Telefonica Brasil Trading Down 2.9%

Telefonica Brasil stock opened at $15.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.00. Telefonica Brasil has a fifty-two week low of $8.19 and a fifty-two week high of $16.95. The stock has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.29.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.05. Telefonica Brasil had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 10.42%.The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Telefonica Brasil will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonica Brasil

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Telefonica Brasil by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,802 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 22,285 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 26,638 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 36,804 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Telefonica Brasil by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,645 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

About Telefonica Brasil

Telefônica Brasil SA, commonly marketed under the Vivo brand, is one of Brazil’s largest telecommunications providers, offering a broad range of consumer and enterprise communications services. The company’s core activities include mobile voice and data services, fixed-line telephony, broadband internet (including fiber-to-the-home), and pay-TV solutions. It also provides ICT and managed services for business customers, such as cloud, data center, connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT) and security solutions.

Vivo operates a nationwide network across Brazil and serves both individual consumers and corporate clients.