Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report)’s stock price traded up 0.3% on Tuesday after DZ Bank upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. DZ Bank now has a $40.00 price target on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $40.81 and last traded at $40.77. 4,441,489 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 24,556,889 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.64.
A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on VZ. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Verizon Communications
Insider Activity at Verizon Communications
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %
The firm has a market cap of $169.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.61.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.
Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.
Verizon Communications Company Profile
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).
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