Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.0667.

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on 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. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. 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 report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $39.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $166.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.62. 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 has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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 dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 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 holdings in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.