Verizon Communications Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 150,469 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 166% compared to the typical volume of 56,496 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 75,252.9% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,810 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 12,793 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 20.7% during the second quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 11,657 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares in the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 180.4% during the second quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,180 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,121,000 after buying an additional 17,486 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $1,237,000. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 137,520 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,671,000 after buying an additional 17,742 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $38.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,288,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,919,656. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $37.56 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $41.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.96%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).