Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives $44.50 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.77 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.17. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Red Door Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 89,402 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,751,000 after acquiring an additional 9,935 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,030 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,228 shares during the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.0% in the first quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 14,300 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 244,071 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $10,241,000 after buying an additional 25,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 18,897 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 3,779 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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).