Investors Buy High Volume of Verizon Communications Call Options (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 82,982 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 43% compared to the average volume of 58,200 call options.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE VZ traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $39.23. 13,148,464 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,433,123. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $165.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors 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).