Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.82.

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, 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 quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Exeter Financial LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 6.8% in the first quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 92,029 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,174,000 after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the first quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 131,364 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,959,000 after buying an additional 3,687 shares during the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc grew its position in Verizon Communications by 2.7% during the first quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 137,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,230,000 after buying an additional 3,598 shares during the period. Legacy Private Trust Co. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $287,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 14,823 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 3,574 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.11 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

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).