Scotiabank Boosts Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target to $48.50

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Scotiabank from $48.00 to $48.50 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.95% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.85.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE VZ opened at $42.94 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.37, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).