Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $4.50-4.70 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.16 on Friday. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.53.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $45.66.

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).