Raymond James Boosts Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target to $48.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at Raymond James from $44.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Raymond James’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.04% from the company’s current price.

VZ has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.03.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.4 %

VZ traded up $0.17 on Tuesday, reaching $44.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,056,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,858,238. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $187.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.82. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $45.05.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).