Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.68 Per Share

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 4th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of 0.678 per share by the cell phone carrier on Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67.

Verizon Communications has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 20 years. Verizon Communications has a payout ratio of 57.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Verizon Communications to earn $4.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.71 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.9%.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE VZ opened at $44.01 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.15. The stock has a market cap of $185.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $30.62 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on VZ. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.26.

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).