StockNews.com Upgrades Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) to “Buy”

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on VZ. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.68 on Thursday. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.46 and its 200-day moving average is $38.51. The company has a market capitalization of $166.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by 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).