Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Vodafone Group Public Call Options (NASDAQ:VOD)

Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 141,951 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 3,499% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,944 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on VOD. StockNews.com raised Vodafone Group Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Vodafone Group Public from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VOD. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 1.2% during the second quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 21,870,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $193,987,000 after acquiring an additional 261,060 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Vodafone Group Public in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,716,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Vodafone Group Public by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,984,642 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $44,214,000 after acquiring an additional 435,877 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,277,581 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $43,161,000 after acquiring an additional 472,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldentree Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 1.9% in the third quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 3,283,292 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $32,898,000 after purchasing an additional 60,943 shares in the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vodafone Group Public Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Vodafone Group Public stock opened at $8.63 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Vodafone Group Public has a 12 month low of $8.02 and a 12 month high of $10.39. The stock has a market cap of $22.25 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.35.

Vodafone Group Public Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.2423 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Vodafone Group Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.86%.

About Vodafone Group Public

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.