Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 1.1% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares traded down 1.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $37.59 and last traded at $37.84. 7,529,659 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 20,921,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 3.0 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 762.6% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).