Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 2.2% Higher – Here’s Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price rose 2.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $40.78 and last traded at $40.7160. Approximately 24,114,701 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 7% from the average daily volume of 22,439,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $171.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.78 and a 200 day moving average of $42.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. MAI Capital Management grew its position in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,005,992 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $44,213,000 after purchasing an additional 21,050 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.3% in the third quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 105,807 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,650,000 after purchasing an additional 9,845 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 51,361 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,257,000 after buying an additional 9,592 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.4% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,140 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 4,405 shares during the period. Finally, Rollins Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,574 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. 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).