Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 0.9% – Here’s Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price traded down 0.9% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $39.76 and last traded at $39.90. 8,473,704 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 14,903,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VZ shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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, September 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.3 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $167.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.86.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.82%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 762.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 938 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).