Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 0.4% – Should You Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price was up 0.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $41.25 and last traded at $41.22. Approximately 2,060,429 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 18,511,457 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $173.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).