Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on VZ. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.9 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $185.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $36.46 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.88 and its 200 day moving average is $41.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.17%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $33,000. 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).