Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Given New $54.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $57.00 to $54.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, The Fly reports. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 7.21% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, April 25th. DZ Bank downgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 29th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $60.00 to $51.00 and set a “peer perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.60.

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.37 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $45.55 and a 52 week high of $56.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.83. The firm has a market cap of $211.54 billion, a PE ratio of 9.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.35. The firm had revenue of $33.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.61 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 15.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

In other news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $77,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,825,950. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Tami A. Erwin sold 23,647 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.77, for a total value of $1,176,911.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 21,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,085,832.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,321 shares of company stock valued at $1,415,192 over the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VZ. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the first quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,966 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Consulting Group boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 14,798 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $769,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Reitz Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Reitz Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,818 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Domani Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the first quarter. Domani Wealth LLC now owns 9,145 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 63.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Verizon Communications (Get Rating)

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. Its Consumer segment provides postpaid and prepaid service plans; internet access on notebook computers and tablets; wireless equipment, including smartphones and other handsets; and wireless-enabled internet devices, such as tablets, and other wireless-enabled connected devices comprising smart watches.

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