Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1.2% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) rose 1.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $41.63 and last traded at $41.69. Approximately 3,800,538 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 22,585,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.0% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $78,975,000 after purchasing an additional 644,761 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Swedbank AB raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 8,368 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 143,487 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,444,000 after acquiring an additional 8,932 shares during the last quarter. 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).