Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Given “Outperform” Rating at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reissued their outperform rating on shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $48.00 price objective on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on VZ. Barclays increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Wolfe Research raised Verizon Communications from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $39.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $166.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 96.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).