Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.50.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.50 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.24. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a market cap of $170.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.38%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Certified Advisory Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 27,457 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).