Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications updated its FY24 guidance to $4.50-4.70 EPS.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $1.01 on Thursday, reaching $41.86. 23,502,896 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,602,553. 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 has a twelve month low of $33.34 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.29. The stock has a market cap of $176.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).