Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Short Interest Up 344.2% in July

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) saw a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 83,990,000 shares, anincreaseof344.2% from the June 30th total of 18,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 18,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 18,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $181.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.75. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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).