Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Raised to “Sector Outperform” at Scotiabank

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) was upgraded by equities researchers at Scotiabank from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $54.50 price objective on the cell phone carrier’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $50.25. Scotiabank’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 6.51% from the company’s current price.

VZ has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.28.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:VZ opened at $51.17 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.59. The stock has a market cap of $215.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.30. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after acquiring an additional 867,694 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.