Vodafone Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:VOD)

Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 3,839 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 51% compared to the average volume of 2,538 call options.

Vodafone Group Stock Performance

Shares of VOD stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $13.15. 2,638,347 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,304,060. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.59. Vodafone Group has a fifty-two week low of $8.00 and a fifty-two week high of $13.19.

Vodafone Group Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vodafone Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 96,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,114,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Vodafone Group by 4.6% during the second quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 21,225 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 20,412 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,640 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VOD. Zacks Research downgraded Vodafone Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Barclays raised Vodafone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. BNP Paribas raised Vodafone Group to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vodafone Group has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.