Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Citigroup

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective cut by Citigroup from $55.00 to $53.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

VZ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Moffett Nathanson dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.05.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.65 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $38.68 and a one year high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares in the company, valued at $4,251,238. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $516,373. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. now owns 34,924 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,479,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $925,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raised outlook and earnings beat: Verizon exceeded quarterly adjusted-EPS expectations and raised its 2026 guidance, reinforcing confidence in postpaid additions, broadband growth, margins and free-cash-flow generation. Verizon raises 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend appears supported by cash flow: Verizon used approximately 49% of free cash flow to fund its dividend, suggesting the roughly 6% yield is backed by internally generated cash rather than additional borrowing. This supports the stock’s appeal to income-focused investors. Verizon dividend free cash flow analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Debt-management action: Verizon launched offers to purchase up to $500 million of several note series for cash, which could help manage upcoming obligations and interest costs, although the near-term earnings effect is likely limited. Verizon note tender offers
• Neutral Sentiment: Small-business initiative: Verizon plans to direct $5 billion toward U.S. small-business suppliers over five years and is expanding its supplier accelerator program. The effort may strengthen procurement relationships and corporate reputation, but it is not expected to materially change near-term financial results. Verizon small-business supplier commitment
• Negative Sentiment: Wireless upgrade weakness: Customers are delaying or reconsidering phone upgrades, a potentially concerning signal for device sales, customer engagement and future promotional activity. Verizon declining phone upgrades
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution: Morgan Stanley, TD Cowen, Citi, Barclays, Daiwa Securities, BNP Paribas Exane and Goldman Sachs all lowered their expectations or price targets for Verizon. The revisions may limit upside despite the recent earnings improvement. Analyst outlook for Verizon
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Kyle Malady sold $47,300 of Verizon shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The relatively small transaction is not necessarily a fundamental warning, but repeated sales can weigh modestly on sentiment. Verizon CEO insider sale

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.