Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Given Buy Rating at Tigress Financial

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Tigress Financial in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 price objective on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Tigress Financial’s price target suggests a potential upside of 39.58% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

VZ stock opened at $39.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $165.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.58. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other 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).