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

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price was up 1.8% during trading on Monday 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 $40.72 and last traded at $40.26. Approximately 11,575,958 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 24,313,607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.54.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,032,269 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,571,000 after purchasing an additional 92,590 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 59.7% during the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 3,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 13.5% in the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,508 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.7% during the second quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 100,116 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,129,000 after buying an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviso Wealth Management lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.0% in the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 15,329 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $169.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.73%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 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).