Tigress Financial Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Tigress Financial in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $55.00 target price on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Tigress Financial’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 39.36% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.82 during trading on Thursday, reaching $39.47. The company had a trading volume of 26,727,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,558,254. The stock has a market cap of $166.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.60. 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 has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 57.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,303 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 838 shares during the period. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,000. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 15,958 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 457,629 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $20,552,000 after purchasing an additional 14,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.0% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $78,975,000 after purchasing an additional 644,761 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).