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

Shares of Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) gapped up before the market opened 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 traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VIV shares. Barclays raised shares of Telefônica Brasil from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $11.80 to $11.50 in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective 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 lowered 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. StockNews.com upgraded Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, New Street Research downgraded Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Telefônica Brasil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.97.

Telefônica Brasil Trading Down 6.0 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Telefônica Brasil S.A. will post 0.6 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This is a boost from Telefônica Brasil’s previous dividend of $0.02. Telefônica Brasil’s payout ratio is 45.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 7.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,053,218 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Telefônica Brasil by 283.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 592,234 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $4,471,000 after buying an additional 437,678 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 414,193 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 912,148 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $6,887,000 after acquiring an additional 367,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil during the 4th quarter valued at $2,749,000. Institutional investors own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Telefônica Brasil Company Profile

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.