Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 0.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price rose 0.3% on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $45.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $40.26 and last traded at $40.10. Approximately 6,543,111 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 18,324,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.97.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on VZ. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.51.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,954,357 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $222,500,000 after purchasing an additional 129,171 shares during the last quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL raised its position in Verizon Communications by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 22,152 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 1,212 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 20,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 4,243 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 75,559 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,393,000 after buying an additional 13,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 20,007 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 8,685 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $168.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

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).