Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Shares Up 3% – Time to Buy?

Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) shares were up 3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $8.97 and last traded at $8.98. Approximately 123,970 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 834,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $10.60 to $9.20 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $10.40 to $9.20 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upgraded Telefônica Brasil from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $11.80 to $11.50 in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, New Street Research downgraded Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.97.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $8.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.83. The company has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.76.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Telefônica Brasil had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 9.78%. Analysts expect that Telefônica Brasil S.A. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Telefônica Brasil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.0215 per share. This is a positive change from Telefônica Brasil’s previous dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Telefônica Brasil’s dividend payout ratio is 50.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 82,053 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 3.5% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 33,370 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments boosted its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 137,909 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,041,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 67.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 195,958 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,653 shares during the period. 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.