Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.9% on Earnings Beat

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 0.9% during trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $42.30 and last traded at $41.88. 4,343,172 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 18,467,295 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.50.

The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine 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 $46.37.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 151.9% during the third quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,063 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $811,000 after buying an additional 10,892 shares in the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 99.7% during the third quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 58,947 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,647,000 after buying an additional 29,430 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 41.8% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,040,631 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $136,555,000 after buying an additional 896,246 shares in the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 9.3% during the third quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 26,900 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,208,000 after buying an additional 2,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.1% during the third quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 25,983 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

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 cap of $176.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.05 and a 200 day moving average of $41.29.

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).