Brokers Set Expectations for Verizon Communications Inc.’s FY2023 Earnings (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research cut their FY2023 earnings estimates for Verizon Communications in a research note issued to investors on Monday, September 4th. Zacks Research analyst S. Bose now expects that the cell phone carrier will post earnings of $4.70 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.71. The consensus estimate for Verizon Communications’ current full-year earnings is $4.73 per share.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. HSBC reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Citigroup raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $39.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.40.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.1 %

VZ stock opened at $33.81 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.19. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $31.25 and a 1-year high of $42.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.14 billion, a PE ratio of 6.76, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $32.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.30 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.58% and a return on equity of 22.28%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.9% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 39,504 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. Northeast Investment Management increased its position in Verizon Communications by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 33,103 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 2,230 shares during the period. abrdn plc raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. abrdn plc now owns 5,004,606 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $194,629,000 after purchasing an additional 380,241 shares during the last quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Elk River Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 74,638 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,903,000 after purchasing an additional 6,964 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.87%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.20%.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).