Analysts Set Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Target Price at $47.41

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.4118.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $41.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $174.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The business had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 394,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $17,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,922 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 6.5% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 125,914 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,614,000 after buying an additional 7,668 shares in the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $330,000. Finally, Stillwater Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $959,000. 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).