Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat 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 target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.77.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.26 on Friday. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $173.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).