Vodafone Group Public (NASDAQ:VOD) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public (NASDAQ:VOD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on VOD. New Street Research upgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Vodafone Group Public in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. They set a buy rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vodafone Group Public presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $14.45.

Vodafone Group Public Price Performance

Shares of VOD stock opened at $9.04 on Friday. Vodafone Group Public has a 12 month low of $8.02 and a 12 month high of $10.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.83.

Vodafone Group Public Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.469 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 9.6%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VOD. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC lifted its stake in Vodafone Group Public by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 21,608,956 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $192,320,000 after acquiring an additional 6,216,805 shares in the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 9,269,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $80,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400,000 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 20.1% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,548,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $40,484,000 after purchasing an additional 761,624 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Vodafone Group Public by 163.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 692,886 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,167,000 after purchasing an additional 430,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vodafone Group Public by 33.9% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,219,658 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $10,855,000 after purchasing an additional 308,861 shares in the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vodafone Group Public Company Profile

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company provides telecommunication services in Europe and internationally. It offers mobile connectivity services comprising end-to-end services for mobile voice and data, messaging, device management, BYOx, and telecoms management, as well as professional and consulting services; and fixed line connectivity, such as fixed voice and data, broadband, software-defined networks, managed WAN, LAN, ethernet, and satellite; and financial services, as well as business and merchant services.