Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Raised to $44.00 at UBS Group

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target increased by equities researchers at UBS Group from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 4.27% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.20. 8,188,323 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,483,816. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.28. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $32.97 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company has a market cap of $177.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the third quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 41,577 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 27,250 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 960.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,909,282 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $85,746,000 after buying an additional 1,729,233 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 903,480 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $40,575,000 after buying an additional 34,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 7,351 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. 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).