Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives $44.36 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.77.

Several analysts have commented on VZ shares. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.23 and a 200 day moving average of $39.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $170.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).