Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Shares Up 3% – Still a Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VIV. StockNews.com raised shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Telefônica Brasil from $10.60 to $9.20 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. New Street Research cut Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Telefônica Brasil from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $11.80 to $11.50 in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.97.

Telefônica Brasil Trading Up 4.4 %

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. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.83.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Telefônica Brasil S.A. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telefônica Brasil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a $0.0215 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This is an increase from Telefônica Brasil’s previous dividend of $0.02. Telefônica Brasil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefônica Brasil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,543 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,169 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 1,429.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 8,534 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 7,976 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.