Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $42.00 target price on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

VZ has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Scotiabank increased their price objective 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, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $45.68.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE VZ opened at $39.96 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $168.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.66%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,963 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,882,164,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $678,739,000 after acquiring an additional 104,447 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently 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).