Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.54.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Tigress Financial raised their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.68. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. 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 posted 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 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.94%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. 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).