Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Lowered to $41.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $43.00 to $41.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on VZ. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.93.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.67 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.34. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hudock Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,724,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Camden National Bank increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the second quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Lazari Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the second quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 67,101 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,903,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.