Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives $47.07 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.9333.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Barclays started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,904,749 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,433,114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,733 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after acquiring an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,322,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,504 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $2,504,150,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,989,427,000 after purchasing an additional 557,576 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.34 on Friday. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $165.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

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.