Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) in a report issued on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the cell phone carrier’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 21.24% from the company’s previous close.

VZ has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.0 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.24 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.06. 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 has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The firm has a market cap of $173.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).