Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price was down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $39.24 and last traded at $39.35. Approximately 26,380,694 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 31,398,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.83.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon and Frontier have secured all regulatory approvals and expect to close the Frontier acquisition on Jan. 20, 2026, which expands Verizon’s fiber footprint to almost 30 million passings across 31 states and D.C., strengthening its broadband + 5G strategy. Verizon and Frontier Receive All Required Regulatory Approvals to Complete Transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: The outage has been resolved and Verizon is offering an automatic $20 credit to affected customers — a limited, transparent remediation but one that may not fully appease regulators or large enterprise customers. Verizon offers $20 credit to customers affected by massive wireless outage
• Negative Sentiment: Public and regulatory pressure is mounting — commentators and consumer advocates are calling for mandatory refunds and broader compensation policies after the outage, raising the prospect of increased regulatory scrutiny and reputation damage. Verizon outage spurs calls for mandatory refunds when cell service is disrupted: You shouldn’t have to ‘beg for it’
• Negative Sentiment: Reports tie the outage to a software update / server failure, suggesting operational risk in network change management; outages that affect emergency services (some 911 impacts were reported) amplify legal and reputational risk. Verizon’s Hourslong Wireless Outage Tied to Software Update
• Negative Sentiment: Scale of impact: outage reports surged across major cities and Downdetector counts reached into the hundreds of thousands—this magnitude raises the near-term risk of churn, customer service costs, and potential short-term revenue disruption. Verizon’s network down for thousands of users in US, Downdetector shows

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. 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 note on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $165.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.74.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Hudock Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camden National Bank grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the second quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.