BofA upgrades Vodafone to 'buy', says dividend cut 'arguably' priced in

Analysts at Bank of America upgraded their recommendation for shares of Vodafone from 'neutral' to 'buy'.

They argued that the shares were now "cheap" and that new management would be a catalyst for restructuring.

Easing energy costs, price increases and cost cutting would all provide upside relief and the wider strategy had gained momentum.

Regarding the latter they said that "new management is a catalyst to expedite VOD's restructuring strategy and reallocate capital into core markets and away from those with poor returns."

They also noted that a 30% reduction in the dividend payout was "arguably" already priced into the shares' then current 9% dividend yield.

Consensus estimates had now rebased and on five times' its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation the shares screened cheap against rivals on six times' EBITDA.

BofA's target price for Vodafone was nevertheless little changed at 131.0p, versus 130.0p beforehand.