Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1.5% – Here’s Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price traded up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $39.58 and last traded at $39.35. 6,778,517 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 22,023,303 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $164.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.46. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Insight Inv LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 27,401 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 5,818 shares during the last quarter. Stewardship Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Stewardship Advisors LLC now owns 6,472 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Advocate Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 252,157 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,084,000 after purchasing an additional 9,554 shares in the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 20,561 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 2,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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).