Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Rating Reiterated by Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has a $48.00 price target on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on VZ. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a sell rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $166.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.46 and its 200-day moving average is $38.51.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the first quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,656 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $518,000. Harrington Investments INC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the first quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 40,614 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,704,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. MBA Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.9% in the first quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 15,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Bancshares Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $202,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).