Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.4118.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $25,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $41.70 on Friday. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.36. 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 stock has a market cap of $175.82 billion, a PE ratio of 8.91, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

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).