Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

VZ has been the topic of several other research reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.46.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 3.3 %

NYSE VZ opened at $40.87 on Monday. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $37.15 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.91.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).