Analysts Set Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) PT at $46.37

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.37.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.85 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $36.46 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $184.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.70.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.18%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.4% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 75,559 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,393,000 after buying an additional 13,319 shares in the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 76.7% in the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 20,007 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 8,685 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 9.1% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 364,181 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,356,000 after acquiring an additional 30,316 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 324,831 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,588,000 after purchasing an additional 18,599 shares during the period. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 56,222 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,525,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 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, 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).