Brokerages Set Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) PT at $44.77

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.14.

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $218,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 47.8% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,922 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 20.0% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 18,876 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 3,151 shares during the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $1,163,000. Finally, American Trust bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $213,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.73 on Friday. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a market capitalization of $175.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.07 and a 200-day moving average of $40.06.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).