Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $8.99, but opened at $9.20. Telefônica Brasil shares last traded at $9.43, with a volume of 37,244 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VIV. StockNews.com upgraded Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. New Street Research downgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $10.60 to $9.20 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $10.40 to $9.20 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Telefônica Brasil from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $11.80 to $11.50 in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.83. The firm has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.76.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.01. Telefônica Brasil had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. On average, analysts expect that Telefônica Brasil S.A. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telefônica Brasil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Telefônica Brasil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefônica Brasil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 15,192,635 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $114,704,000 after buying an additional 1,053,218 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 283.2% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 592,234 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $4,471,000 after acquiring an additional 437,678 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 151.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 686,792 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $5,185,000 after purchasing an additional 414,193 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Telefônica Brasil by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 912,148 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $6,887,000 after purchasing an additional 367,975 shares during the period. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Telefônica Brasil during the 4th quarter valued at $2,749,000. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.