Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) were up 1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $40.03 and last traded at $39.99. Approximately 13,545,795 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 18,413,277 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.51.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $169.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors 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 6.74%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,058,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $92,445,000 after purchasing an additional 57,583 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,548,163,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,009 shares in 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).