Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.36.

A number of research firms have commented on VIV. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $13.90 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Telefonica Brasil from $15.70 to $15.40 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonica Brasil

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIV. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Telefonica Brasil by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 431,051 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $3,758,000 after purchasing an additional 100,315 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil during the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 337.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,233 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Telefonica Brasil by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 48,646 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 5,902 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Telefonica Brasil by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 79,937 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 18,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Telefonica Brasil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VIV opened at $13.47 on Monday. Telefonica Brasil has a twelve month low of $10.79 and a twelve month high of $17.25. The firm has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.18 and a 200 day moving average of $14.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.02). Telefonica Brasil had a return on equity of 9.32% and a net margin of 10.49%.The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Telefonica Brasil will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefonica Brasil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.4562 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Telefonica Brasil’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Telefonica Brasil Company Profile

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.