Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 0.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price shot up 0.2% on Friday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $46.50 to $47.25. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $43.96 and last traded at $43.94. 2,389,998 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 18,363,631 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.85.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.31.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,678,000 after buying an additional 37,732 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 919,618 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $38,587,000 after purchasing an additional 21,132 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 164.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 94,339 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,237,000 after purchasing an additional 58,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advocate Group LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 242,603 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $10,895,000 after purchasing an additional 11,845 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share 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 6.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

About Verizon Communications

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).