Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Vodafone Group Public (NASDAQ:VOD)

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

Vodafone Group Public Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of VOD stock opened at $8.41 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.34. Vodafone Group Public has a fifty-two week low of $8.02 and a fifty-two week high of $10.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.77.

Vodafone Group Public Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VOD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vodafone Group Public presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Vodafone Group Public

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in Vodafone Group Public by 630.9% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 4,634 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 1,493.2% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 4,700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 4,405 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 37.8% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 5,516 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Vodafone Group Public during the second quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Vodafone Group Public by 79.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares during the period. 7.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.