Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.5%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price traded up 0.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $41.38 and last traded at $41.31. 1,989,356 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 18,806,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $173.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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).