Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Raised to $50.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective raised by Oppenheimer from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $45.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.08. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. NCM Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. JB Capital LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curbstone Financial Management Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).