Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.14.

Several research firms have commented on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marcum Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 31,330 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 2,378 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Verizon Communications by 23.5% during the second quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 55,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after acquiring an additional 10,470 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 44.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,005,000 after acquiring an additional 15,076 shares in the last quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 7,805 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 78,385 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 19,831 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $173.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.11. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

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).