Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $46.06 and last traded at $46.8540. 22,996,364 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 29,153,541 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $195.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 73.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after buying an additional 8,289,877 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,286,423,000 after buying an additional 7,509,055 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.