Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) PT Raised to $46.50 at Scotiabank

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from $45.50 to $46.50 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price suggests a potential upside of 12.59% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.23.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $41.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Private Portfolio Partners LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position in Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).