Zacks Research Brokers Increase Earnings Estimates for VZ

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2025 earnings estimates for Verizon Communications in a research note issued to investors on Monday, August 11th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the cell phone carrier will earn $4.69 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $4.65. The consensus estimate for Verizon Communications’ current full-year earnings is $4.69 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Verizon Communications’ Q4 2025 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.18 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.28 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.92 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.37 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.27 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.12 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

VZ stock opened at $43.72 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.67 and its 200 day moving average is $42.89. The stock has a market cap of $184.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after buying an additional 4,615,075 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after buying an additional 1,172,175 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,322,700,000 after buying an additional 1,101,504 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $2,504,150,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after buying an additional 37,516,167 shares during the period. 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).