Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 0.1% – Should You Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares shot up 0.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $41.26 and last traded at $41.17. 2,546,145 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 18,533,045 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $172.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.60%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors 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).