Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.54.

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $164.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake 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 buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).