Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1% – Here’s What Happened

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price shot up 1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $40.03 and last traded at $39.99. 13,545,795 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 18,413,277 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.51.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G 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.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.74%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 45.9% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 25,955 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 8,163 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the second quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,136 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.2% during the second quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 18,242 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the second quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,679 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.0% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 19,426 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 4,601 shares during the period. 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).