Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $46.00 to $44.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.97% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.25.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $38.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $164.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.76. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $38.35 and a 1 year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory approvals complete for Frontier acquisition — Verizon expects the transaction to close Jan. 20, bringing roughly 30 million fiber passings and enabling cross‑selling of fiber and 5G services, which could materially expand growth runway and ARPU over time. GlobeNewswire: Approvals to Complete Transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile wins Pentagon contract — headlines lifted ASTS shares and remind investors Verizon has partnerships with LEO satellite providers, which could support future wholesale or coverage initiatives, but the news is primarily a catalyst for ASTS rather than VZ. MarketBeat: Pentagon Deal Sends AST SpaceMobile Soaring
• Negative Sentiment: Widespread outage and $20 customer credits — a multi‑hour nationwide outage tied to a software issue triggered customer complaints and scrutiny; Verizon is offering a $20 redeemable credit to affected users, which raises short‑term costs and reputational risk and has prompted calls for mandatory refunds. This outage is the principal near‑term negative driving sentiment. Investopedia: Why Verizon Customers Are Getting $20 Payouts
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price‑target cut — Sanford C. Bernstein trimmed its VZ target from $46 to $44 and moved to Market Perform, signaling more cautious near‑term expectations; the change tempers upside in the short term. TickerReport / Benzinga: Analyst Price Target Cut

About Verizon Communications

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.