Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target to $41.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $43.00 to $41.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.23% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on VZ. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.93.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.34 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.31 and its 200-day moving average is $41.58. The company has a market cap of $165.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.34. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cadinha & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 347,716 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,046,000 after purchasing an additional 336,190 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.0% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $309,551,000 after buying an additional 722,559 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 378.7% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 93,732 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,120,000 after buying an additional 74,151 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 555,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $24,427,000 after acquiring an additional 43,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 2,762,705 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $121,421,000 after acquiring an additional 151,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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.