Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Price Target Cut to $9.20 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $10.60 to $9.20 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the Wireless communications provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.02% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on VIV. New Street Research lowered Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.40 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Telefônica Brasil from $11.50 to $11.80 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.60.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Performance

VIV traded up $0.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $7.93. 735,979 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 823,405. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $13.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.78. Telefônica Brasil has a one year low of $7.66 and a one year high of $11.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.93 and its 200 day moving average is $9.04.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Telefônica Brasil had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 9.78%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIV. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Telefônica Brasil during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,967,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,135,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,171,789 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $12,034,000 after purchasing an additional 385,207 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,206,334 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $18,261,000 after purchasing an additional 275,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 96.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 544,019 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $4,466,000 after buying an additional 267,652 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

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.