Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives $44.50 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.50.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.17.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

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).