Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Upgraded at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VZ. William Blair raised shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.56.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $49.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $208.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $48.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after acquiring an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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.