Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives $45.66 Consensus PT from Analysts

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.66.

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 9,353 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 2,314 shares during the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 37,732 shares in the last quarter. Windle Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Windle Wealth LLC now owns 164,242 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $433,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

VZ stock opened at $43.89 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.73. The company has a market cap of $184.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $45.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.18%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

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).