Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0% on Analyst Upgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) rose 0% during trading on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $45.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $40.13 and last traded at $39.94. Approximately 4,003,263 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 18,433,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.93.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.51.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $167.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.88.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).