Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD – Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 5,978 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 189% compared to the average volume of 2,072 call options.
Vodafone Group Stock Up 0.6%
Shares of Vodafone Group stock opened at $15.56 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.71. Vodafone Group has a 52 week low of $10.66 and a 52 week high of $16.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.14.
Vodafone Group Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.2766 per share. This represents a yield of 376.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th.
Key Headlines Impacting Vodafone Group
- Positive Sentiment: Vodafone shares are getting a lift from the news that the Niel family’s Vega plans to acquire a 16.2% stake in Vodafone from e& for about $5.95 billion, a deal that investors appear to view as a vote of confidence in the company’s value and future direction. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Market sentiment also looks improved after reports that Vodafone shares extended gains on the stake-sale news, alongside unusually heavy call-option buying that suggests traders are positioning for further upside. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Vodafone’s VOIS unit said it is moving away from robotic process automation and toward a self-service integration model, a longer-term operational efficiency initiative that could help margins but is unlikely to move the stock immediately. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Separate coverage noted legal firms involved in the $6 billion Vodafone stake sale, reinforcing that the transaction is progressing, but this is more of a deal-execution update than a direct business catalyst. Article Title
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vodafone Group
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 26,854,952 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $403,361,000 after acquiring an additional 784,305 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Vodafone Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,286,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $201,935,000 after buying an additional 182,574 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Vodafone Group by 9,637.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,902,486 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $117,602,000 after acquiring an additional 8,811,061 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Vodafone Group by 9.1% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,331,144 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $85,041,000 after purchasing an additional 610,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SALT Holding Corp. grew its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. SALT Holding Corp. now owns 3,821,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $44,324,000 after buying an additional 197,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.84% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
VOD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $13.13 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vodafone Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research lowered Vodafone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group upgraded Vodafone Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut Vodafone Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vodafone Group currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $52.38.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on VOD
About Vodafone Group
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.
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