Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 1.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $42.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a hold rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $40.68 and last traded at $39.87. 16,171,375 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 23,718,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.18.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.89 and a 200-day moving average of $41.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

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).