Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company.

Several research firms have recently commented on VOD. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vodafone Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Bank of America downgraded Vodafone Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Vodafone Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Vodafone Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $285,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Vodafone Group by 512.8% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,396,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168,435 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Vodafone Group by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,830 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3,435 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Vodafone Group by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 296,581 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,779,000 after purchasing an additional 5,592 shares during the period. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 44,855 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.84% of the company’s stock.

Vodafone Group Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of VOD stock opened at $10.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.08. Vodafone Group has a 12-month low of $8.00 and a 12-month high of $10.60. The firm has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.58.

Vodafone Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.2355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a yield of 6.6%. Vodafone Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.23%.

Vodafone Group 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.