Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price rose 1.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $43.50 and last traded at $42.58. Approximately 34,348,956 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 16% from the average daily volume of 29,520,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.07.

More Verizon Communications News

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced a new U.S. automotive connectivity win, saying it will provide 5G Standalone and LTE telematics service for newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles in the U.S. through its KDDI partnership. The deal adds another enterprise/connected-vehicle revenue opportunity and highlights Verizon’s network reach. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles pointed to Verizon’s stable earnings profile and possible earnings-beat potential, noting its history of topping estimates and the company’s ongoing fiber and wireless expansion efforts. That can support investor confidence in the near-term outlook. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs won the mandate to manage $40 billion of Verizon retirement assets. This is not core wireless growth, but it reflects Verizon’s use of outside financial managers and does not appear to materially change the operating outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Barclays both maintained cautious views on Verizon, with equal-weight ratings and slightly lower price targets. The notes suggest limited upside in the near term, but they were not outright bearish. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary from Barron’s and Wells Fargo highlighted Starlink as a growing competitive threat to Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, raising concerns that satellite-backed wireless services could pressure growth in fixed wireless access and postpaid accounts. Article Title Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VZ. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.28.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 312.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 17,901 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 17.2% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its position in Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.