Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price points to a potential upside of 14.30% from the company’s current price.

VZ has been the topic of several other reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.46.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.00 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $36.46 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $176.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.44. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.85.

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. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $44,000. 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).