Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Still a Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price was up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $39.40 and last traded at $39.23. Approximately 6,844,242 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 22,979,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $165.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.91%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,095,000 after acquiring an additional 17,855 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,503,000 after buying an additional 1,026,930 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,463,000 after buying an additional 43,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,058,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $92,445,000 after buying an additional 57,583 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).