Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

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 Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on VZ. Raymond James upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised 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 report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $38.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $163.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Third Point LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $173,325,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527,387 shares in 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).