Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on VZ. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a sell rating to a neutral rating and increased their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.68 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.46 and a 200-day moving average of $38.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The company has a market capitalization of $166.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 18,648 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,079 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 22,140 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 7,001 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 304.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 54,895 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after buying an additional 41,331 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,016,710 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $32,952,000 after buying an additional 56,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Strategies Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 105,481 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,324,000 after buying an additional 23,448 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

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).