Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.63.

A number of equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 19th. Finally, Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 6,226 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.69, for a total transaction of $228,431.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 67,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,493,672.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HBC Financial Services PLLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Kepos Capital LP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 273.5% during the third quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP raised its position in Verizon Communications by 41.0% in the third quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 1,077 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 111.8% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,057 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. 60.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $36.79 on Friday. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $34.55 and a twelve month high of $55.51. The stock has a market cap of $154.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.97.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 24.60% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6525 per share. This represents a $2.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 51.58%.

About Verizon Communications

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Verizon Communications, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of communications, information, and entertainment products and services. It operates through the Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business) segments. The Consumer segment provides consumer-focused wireless and wire line communications services and products.