Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Rating Increased to Neutral at Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Redburn Atlantic currently has $39.00 price objective on the cell phone carrier’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $33.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded Verizon Communications from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $43.86.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $171.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.21. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.38%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $658,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $5,131,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $151,000. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,346,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

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).