Cowen Trims Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Target Price to $49.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Cowen from $55.00 to $49.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, The Fly reports. Cowen’s price objective points to a potential upside of 21.23% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on VZ. Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications to $43.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.68.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.0 %

VZ stock opened at $40.42 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $32.76 and a 52 week high of $55.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.72.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.14 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 25.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the second quarter. Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC now owns 23,133 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. McDonald Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. McDonald Partners LLC now owns 55,118 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,797,000 after purchasing an additional 6,617 shares during the last quarter. Hall Private Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hall Private Wealth Advisors now owns 199,247 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,112,000 after acquiring an additional 11,838 shares during the last quarter. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC now owns 12,494 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruWealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 197,236 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,010,000 after acquiring an additional 12,355 shares during the last quarter. 60.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. Its Consumer segment provides postpaid and prepaid service plans; internet access on notebook computers and tablets; wireless equipment, including smartphones and other handsets; and wireless-enabled internet devices, such as tablets, and other wireless-enabled connected devices comprising smart watches.