Raymond James Raises Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target to $48.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Raymond James from $44.00 to $48.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Raymond James’ price objective points to a potential upside of 8.04% from the stock’s current price.

VZ has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.03.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.43. 6,056,304 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,858,238. The stock has a market cap of $187.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.82. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $45.05.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 37,732 shares during the last quarter. Mosley Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 647,218 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $24,400,000 after purchasing an additional 428,776 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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).