Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 1.7%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price rose 1.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $41.54 and last traded at $41.51. Approximately 3,597,355 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 18,741,143 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.77.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.99. The firm has a market cap of $173.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).