Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) traded down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $39.41 and last traded at $39.45. 4,377,605 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 18,385,146 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.51.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.78 and a 200-day moving average of $41.86. The company has a market cap of $167.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).