Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) PT Raised to $47.25

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target upped by Scotiabank from $46.50 to $47.25 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on VZ. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.31.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $185.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.27. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $31.26 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.17%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 37,732 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,095,000 after acquiring an additional 17,855 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 102,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,592,000 after acquiring an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Finally, Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 973,547 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $40,149,000 after purchasing an additional 53,929 shares during the last quarter. 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).