Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) were up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $40.52 and last traded at $40.16. Approximately 7,090,626 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 18,413,277 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.51.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.84. The company has a market cap of $169.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.73%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First City Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 45,481 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,819,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 55,221 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 59,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,393,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 8,037 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).