Short Interest in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Decreases By 14.0%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 41,250,000 shares, a drop of 14.0% from the March 31st total of 47,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,440,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.68 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $166.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.46 and its 200-day moving average is $38.61. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 173.7% in the third quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $21,137,000 after buying an additional 413,869 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,131,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the third quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares during the period. GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $306,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).