Royal Bank of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.23% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.29.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.54 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.85 and a 200-day moving average of $41.61. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. 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 company has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently 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).