Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 2.6% – Still a Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares rose 2.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.19 and last traded at $45.90. Approximately 12,082,319 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 19,539,389 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 5.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.11. The firm has a market cap of $181.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP grew its position in Verizon Communications by 74.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,012 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $464,000. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 16.6% during the third quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 37,506 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after purchasing an additional 5,340 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $723,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 56.6% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 459,777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $20,649,000 after buying an additional 166,137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).