Kerusso Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kerusso Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 67,180 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,771,000. Verizon Communications accounts for about 2.0% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.93 and its 200-day moving average is $40.53. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $173.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Verizon Communications 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).