Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.68 Per Share

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 4th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of 0.678 per share by the cell phone carrier on Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67.

Verizon Communications has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 19 years. Verizon Communications has a payout ratio of 56.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Verizon Communications to earn $4.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.66 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.0%.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of VZ opened at $41.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.78.

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).