Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 0.4% – Time to Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price traded down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $39.47 and last traded at $39.80. 11,712,157 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 18,479,061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.51.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $167.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.86.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.81%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).