Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.4667.

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%

VZ stock opened at $40.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $171.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.97. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.