Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) Receives $72.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VOD. Zacks Research raised Vodafone Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Berenberg Bank raised Vodafone Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vodafone Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Vodafone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th.

Vodafone Group Price Performance

Shares of VOD opened at $14.57 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.17. Vodafone Group has a twelve month low of $8.00 and a twelve month high of $14.61.

Vodafone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a $0.2567 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. This represents a yield of 434.0%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Vodafone Group by 156.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,275 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vodafone Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 38.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,435 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 3,455.7% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 3,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Vodafone Group by 36.2% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,389 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. 7.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vodafone Group Company Profile

Vodafone Group plc is a British multinational telecommunications company headquartered in London. It provides a wide range of communications services to consumer and enterprise customers, including mobile voice and data, fixed-line broadband, cable and pay-TV, and wholesale network services. The company also offers business-oriented solutions such as cloud and hosting, managed networks, unified communications, and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and platform services.

Vodafone operates through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and partner arrangements across multiple countries, with a particularly large presence in Europe and in several African markets.