Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

VZ has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and raised their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a sell rating to a neutral rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.77%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.0% in the first quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 121,129 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,083,000 after purchasing an additional 10,983 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the first quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 17,218 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 48,889 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 3,771 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 140.5% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,614 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 19,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choate Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 26,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is 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).