Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $42.00 to $43.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 3.29% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $41.63 on Thursday. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Verizon Communications

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).