Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 1.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 1.8% during trading on Friday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $42.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a hold rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $40.68 and last traded at $39.87. 16,171,375 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 23,718,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.18.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.2 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 3.27 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

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).