Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 3.2% Higher After Earnings Beat

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price traded up 3.2% during trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $39.97 and last traded at $39.82. 8,591,181 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 20,044,602 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.60.

The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.74%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,625,025 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,396,167,000 after purchasing an additional 930,367 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527,387 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $1,882,164,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,621,839 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,446,194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,015,139 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 17.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,400,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,455,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134,150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $166.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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).