Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Daiwa Securities Group

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective reduced by Daiwa Securities Group from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note published on Tuesday. Daiwa Securities Group currently has a buy rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.05.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of VZ opened at $43.65 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $38.68 and a one year high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $181.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 72.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 98,866 shares in the company, valued at $4,251,238. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,790,000 after acquiring an additional 31,354 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. now owns 317,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,434,000 after purchasing an additional 25,156 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.0% in the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 184,170 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,798,000 after purchasing an additional 103,046 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.1% during the first quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 2,450,129 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $122,996,000 after buying an additional 73,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $287,081,000 after buying an additional 1,339,580 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raised outlook and earnings beat: Verizon exceeded quarterly adjusted-EPS expectations and raised its 2026 guidance, reinforcing confidence in postpaid additions, broadband growth, margins and free-cash-flow generation. Verizon raises 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend appears supported by cash flow: Verizon used approximately 49% of free cash flow to fund its dividend, suggesting the roughly 6% yield is backed by internally generated cash rather than additional borrowing. This supports the stock’s appeal to income-focused investors. Verizon dividend free cash flow analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Debt-management action: Verizon launched offers to purchase up to $500 million of several note series for cash, which could help manage upcoming obligations and interest costs, although the near-term earnings effect is likely limited. Verizon note tender offers
• Neutral Sentiment: Small-business initiative: Verizon plans to direct $5 billion toward U.S. small-business suppliers over five years and is expanding its supplier accelerator program. The effort may strengthen procurement relationships and corporate reputation, but it is not expected to materially change near-term financial results. Verizon small-business supplier commitment
• Negative Sentiment: Wireless upgrade weakness: Customers are delaying or reconsidering phone upgrades, a potentially concerning signal for device sales, customer engagement and future promotional activity. Verizon declining phone upgrades
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution: Morgan Stanley, TD Cowen, Citi, Barclays, Daiwa Securities, BNP Paribas Exane and Goldman Sachs all lowered their expectations or price targets for Verizon. The revisions may limit upside despite the recent earnings improvement. Analyst outlook for Verizon
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Kyle Malady sold $47,300 of Verizon shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The relatively small transaction is not necessarily a fundamental warning, but repeated sales can weigh modestly on sentiment. Verizon CEO insider sale

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.