Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $40.12 and last traded at $40.04. 2,091,974 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 18,411,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.51.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $168.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.83.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.79%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 762.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).