Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) PT Raised to $45.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target lifted by Bank of America from $41.00 to $45.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VZ. TD Cowen increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Raymond James increased 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. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.89 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $45.05. The company has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.678 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leo Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,678,000 after acquiring an additional 37,732 shares in the last quarter. Mosley Wealth Management bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 647,218 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $24,400,000 after acquiring an additional 428,776 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).