Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 2.3% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares traded down 2.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $40.15 and last traded at $40.29. 44,379,728 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 96% from the average session volume of 22,670,990 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).