Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 78,376 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 25% compared to the average volume of 62,572 call options.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon beat Q2 adjusted EPS estimates at $1.30 versus $1.27 expected, helped by record EBITDA margins and stronger cash generation. Verizon earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year 2026 guidance for adjusted EPS, mobility and broadband service revenue, and free cash flow, signaling management confidence in the outlook. Reuters guidance article
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon posted better-than-expected subscriber momentum, including 184,000 postpaid phone additions and more than 550,000 total mobility and broadband net adds, showing the core business is improving. Verizon press release
• Positive Sentiment: Free cash flow rose 24.4% and Verizon expanded its full-year buyback target to as much as $4.5 billion, both supportive of shareholder returns. Verizon press release
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon also announced a more than $1 billion dark fiber deal with Google for AI data centers, suggesting potential upside from infrastructure demand and additional AI-related contracts. Reuters Google deal article
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue came in below Wall Street expectations and was slightly lower year over year, so top-line pressure is still a concern. Verizon earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity was unusually heavy, with traders buying more call options than normal, which may reflect speculative bullish positioning rather than fundamental news. GuruFocus earnings call highlights

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Econ Financial Services Corp increased its position in Verizon Communications by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,862 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,790,000 after buying an additional 31,354 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,197,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $89,499,000 after buying an additional 639,380 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 697.0% during the fourth quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 471,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $19,189,000 after buying an additional 412,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $97,059,000 after buying an additional 316,854 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $46.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.20. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.50 to $51.50 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.03.

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.