Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03, RTT News reports. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications updated its FY24 guidance to $4.50-$4.70 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 4.500-4.700 EPS.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $40.49 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.33. The stock has a market cap of $170.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.57%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Certified Advisory Corp grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the first quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the second quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 16,660 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 9.2% during the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,447 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the first quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC now owns 10,951 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $558,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syntax Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC now owns 6,883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

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).