Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 0.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $41.78 and last traded at $41.53. Approximately 2,729,910 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 18,531,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $175.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a positive change 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 6.51%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).