Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Cut to $42.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report released on Friday morning.

VZ has been the subject of a number of other reports. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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 objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.43.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $166.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. 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 has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is 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).