Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Given New $49.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $47.00 to $49.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.57% from the company’s previous close.

VZ has been the subject of several other reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.16.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.72. The stock had a trading volume of 6,601,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,841,164. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $188.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.59 and its 200 day moving average is $40.86. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $45.05.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $250,312,000. Third Point LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in Verizon Communications by 419.8% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $193,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,152,099 shares in the last quarter. 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).