Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) rose 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $41.25 and last traded at $41.22. Approximately 2,060,429 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 18,511,457 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.37. The stock has a market cap of $173.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 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 (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 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 the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $354,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $200,000. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 21,700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 39.7% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 12,787 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the first quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 9,455 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).