Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $45.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $40.26 and last traded at $40.10. Approximately 6,543,111 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 18,324,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.97.

VZ has been the topic of several other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.51.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.17 and a 200 day moving average of $41.87. 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 market capitalization of $168.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued 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 6.79%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).