Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.4% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) traded up 0.4% on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $41.00 to $45.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $44.80 and last traded at $44.71. 2,752,919 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 18,837,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.55.

Several other research firms have also commented on VZ. 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 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.09.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 37,732 shares in the last quarter. Mosley Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 196.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 647,218 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $24,400,000 after purchasing an additional 428,776 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $188.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.04%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

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).