Zacks Research Has Bullish Estimate for VZ Q1 Earnings

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) – Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Verizon Communications in a note issued to investors on Monday, April 7th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the cell phone carrier will earn $1.13 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.12. The consensus estimate for Verizon Communications’ current full-year earnings is $4.69 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Verizon Communications’ FY2025 earnings at $4.65 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.20 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $1.14 EPS.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.85.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE VZ opened at $42.94 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $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 has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $357,398,000 after acquiring an additional 8,695,736 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $792,937,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846,514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).