What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for VZ FY2024 Earnings?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Verizon Communications in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the cell phone carrier will post earnings per share of $4.59 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $4.56. The consensus estimate for Verizon Communications’ current full-year earnings is $4.61 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Verizon Communications’ Q2 2025 earnings at $1.18 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.19 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.22 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.72 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.22 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.17 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.15 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.77 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.15 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $43.03 and its 200 day moving average is $41.41. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $35.81 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $173.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $250,312,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,548,163,000 after acquiring an additional 5,936,009 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,815,534 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $216,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,711,309 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $177,799,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 112.6% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,574,910 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $273,507,000 after purchasing an additional 3,481,936 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).