Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 4,045,245 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 273% from the previous session’s volume of 1,084,412 shares.The stock last traded at $11.3150 and had previously closed at $11.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on VIV. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Telefonica Brasil in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $13.90 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Telefonica Brasil from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays set a $16.00 target price on Telefonica Brasil in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research lowered Telefonica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Telefonica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $14.26.

Telefonica Brasil Trading Down 0.4%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.55. The firm has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.04). Telefonica Brasil had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Telefonica Brasil S.A. will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telefonica Brasil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.4562 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Telefonica Brasil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonica Brasil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 337.7% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,233 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. Arax Advisory Partners raised its stake in Telefonica Brasil by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 3,773 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Telefonica Brasil in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 214.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 3,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Telefonica Brasil during the 4th quarter valued at about $110,000. Institutional investors own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

About Telefonica Brasil

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.