Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of VZ FY2024 Earnings

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2024 EPS estimates for Verizon Communications in a research report issued on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the cell phone carrier will post earnings of $4.59 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $4.56. The consensus estimate for Verizon Communications’ current full-year earnings is $4.61 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Verizon Communications’ Q2 2025 earnings at $1.18 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.19 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.22 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.72 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.22 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.17 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.15 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.77 EPS.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on VZ. Citigroup raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of 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 shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.9 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.65 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.41. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $35.93 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company has a market cap of $175.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third 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 during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $33,000. 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).