Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Given New $55.00 Price Target at Tigress Financial

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective raised by Tigress Financial from $52.00 to $55.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Tigress Financial currently has a buy rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $45.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $190.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.00 and its 200-day moving average is $41.03.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given 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 yield of 6.00%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $201,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 17,850 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 2,808 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 345,952 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,042,000 after purchasing an additional 10,672 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).