Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $8.59 and last traded at $8.74, with a volume of 62128 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VIV shares. Barclays upgraded Telefônica Brasil from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $11.80 to $11.50 in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com raised Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Telefônica Brasil from $10.40 to $9.20 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Telefônica Brasil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.97.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.72. The company has a market cap of $14.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.60.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.01. Telefônica Brasil had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Telefônica Brasil S.A. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Telefônica Brasil Increases Dividend

The firm 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 presently 49.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefônica Brasil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VIV. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new position in Telefônica Brasil in the 1st quarter worth $795,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 145.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,375 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 5,557 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 28,784 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 6,050 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil during the first quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 27.4% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 75,123 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 16,153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Telefônica Brasil Company Profile

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.