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

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price traded up 1.8% on Monday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $47.00 to $47.50. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $40.72 and last traded at $40.26. 11,575,958 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 24,313,607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.54.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Ten investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,548,163,000 after buying an additional 5,936,009 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,815,534 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $216,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,711,309 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $177,799,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $217,087,000 after buying an additional 3,519,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 77.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $274,052,000 after buying an additional 2,656,396 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.85 and its 200-day moving average is $41.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.67%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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).