Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on VZ. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Scotiabank increased 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. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.69. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $36.46 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,560 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 5,634 shares in the last quarter. American Trust bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $213,000. Advance Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.9% during the second quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,820 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,694,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.6% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 8,877 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).