Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Target Cut by Scotiabank

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its target price decreased by Scotiabank from $52.50 to $51.50 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.16% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.90.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE VZ traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $45.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,641,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,997,148. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.40 and a 200 day moving average of $47.25. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.27.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.40, for a total value of $51,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,791,542.40. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 6,600 shares of company stock worth $322,597 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.5% during the second quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,617 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,762,000 after buying an additional 2,544 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.5% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 836,939 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,436,000 after acquiring an additional 43,313 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 171,425 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,258,000 after acquiring an additional 14,974 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,110,356 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $555,091,000 after acquiring an additional 214,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 33.2% in the second quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 63,011 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,668,000 after acquiring an additional 15,714 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company headquartered in New York City and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VZ. The company was formed in 2000 through the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE and has developed into one of the largest communications providers in the United States.

Verizon’s consumer business provides wireless voice and data services, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, broadband, and related communications products.