Verizon Communications’ (VZ) Sector Perform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their sector perform rating on shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $42.00 target price on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

VZ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, May 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.58. The company has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.82.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $893,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,532,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $178,000. Souders Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.9% during the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 24,273 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 4,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $963,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).