Short Interest in Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Increases By 34.0%

Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,880,000 shares, a growth of 34.0% from the February 28th total of 2,150,000 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 915,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Telefônica Brasil from $10.60 to $9.20 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. New Street Research lowered shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $10.40 to $9.20 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Telefônica Brasil from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $11.80 to $11.50 in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.97.

Telefônica Brasil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VIV traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.06. 738,524 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 837,709. The company’s 50 day moving average is $8.78 and its 200 day moving average is $8.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.76. Telefônica Brasil has a one year low of $7.47 and a one year high of $10.41.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Telefônica Brasil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $0.0215 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is 50.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefônica Brasil

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 415,299 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $3,136,000 after buying an additional 12,680 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 26,686 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 4,063 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 394.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 240,200 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,814,000 after purchasing an additional 191,600 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Telefônica Brasil by 151.9% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 686,792 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $5,185,000 after buying an additional 414,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil during the fourth quarter worth about $379,000. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.