Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 0.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) traded down 0.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $39.76 and last traded at $39.90. 8,473,704 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 14,903,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $164.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.47 and a 200 day moving average of $41.85.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its 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 return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).