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 report released on Thursday.

VZ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $39.22 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The firm has a market cap of $164.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after buying an additional 12,220,777 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $173,325,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after buying an additional 4,527,387 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently 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).