Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 1.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was down 1.1% during trading on Wednesday after BNP Paribas downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $38.92 and last traded at $39.86. Approximately 30,606,767 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the average daily volume of 21,522,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.30.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on VZ. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Century Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 29,996 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Penbrook Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.1% in the third quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 33,235 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 489,239 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $21,502,000 after purchasing an additional 4,897 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,449,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $63,714,000 after purchasing an additional 21,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.7% in the third quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 18,355 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $168.04 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.01.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

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).