Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $15.60, but opened at $14.96. Telefonica Brasil shares last traded at $14.6620, with a volume of 160,616 shares traded.

The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Telefonica Brasil had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 9.15%.

Telefonica Brasil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.4562 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Telefonica Brasil’s payout ratio is currently 65.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VIV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Telefonica Brasil from $12.50 to $15.30 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research raised Telefonica Brasil from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Telefonica Brasil from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. New Street Research raised Telefonica Brasil from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Telefonica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonica Brasil

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VIV. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Telefonica Brasil by 138.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,856,618 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $36,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,475 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Telefonica Brasil during the second quarter worth approximately $4,192,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Telefonica Brasil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,211,000. Carrera Capital Advisors lifted its position in Telefonica Brasil by 2,420.5% during the third quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 344,055 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $4,387,000 after acquiring an additional 330,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Telefonica Brasil by 477.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 392,232 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $5,001,000 after acquiring an additional 324,319 shares during the last quarter. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Telefonica Brasil Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.63.

Telefonica Brasil Company Profile

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.