Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1.9% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $45.21 and last traded at $45.02. 5,939,658 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 18,333,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.71.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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 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 period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $484,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Prostatis Group LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 38,030 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the period. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $901,000. Finally, 111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $614,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).