Bank of America Boosts Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target to $45.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective raised by Bank of America from $41.00 to $45.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.89 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.95. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $45.05.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 101.12%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).