Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 0% – Here’s Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares shot up 0% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $44.06 and last traded at $44.02. 2,490,324 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 18,608,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Raymond James boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Eight 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.26.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $186.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.18.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.13%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.12%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).