Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $13.62 and last traded at $13.6650, with a volume of 109447 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America began coverage on Telefonica Brasil in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 price objective on Telefonica Brasil in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $14.50 target price on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telefonica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.12.

Telefonica Brasil Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.22. The company has a market cap of $22.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter. Telefonica Brasil had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 10.37%. Research analysts anticipate that Telefonica Brasil S.A. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonica Brasil

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 17,000,115 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $216,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735,958 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Telefonica Brasil by 54.8% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,754,523 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $65,602,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,349 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 3.5% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 3,480,597 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $39,679,000 after acquiring an additional 119,002 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,949,455 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $34,981,000 after acquiring an additional 37,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 138.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,856,618 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $36,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,475 shares during the last quarter. 5.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.