Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 0% – Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) fell 0% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $39.54 and last traded at $39.60. 8,649,079 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 17,898,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.42 and its 200-day moving average is $41.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $164.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently 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).