Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 0.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price rose 0.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $45.34 and last traded at $45.00. Approximately 4,482,533 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 18,343,393 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on VZ. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.71.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.98 and a 200 day moving average of $42.07. The firm has a market cap of $189.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.01%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Prostatis Group LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 38,030 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the period. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $901,000. Finally, 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $614,000. 62.06% of the stock is 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).