Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $50.82 and last traded at $50.5770. Approximately 15,474,185 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 27,428,912 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.97.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Service convergence is strengthening growth. Verizon’s Frontier acquisition is helping accelerate service-revenue growth, while bundled mobile, broadband and fiber offerings are contributing to stronger broadband additions, higher adoption and lower churn. Analysts view the company’s valuation and substantial free-cash-flow-supported dividend as attractive for income-focused investors. Verizon Firing On All Cylinders – Focus On Service Convergence
• Positive Sentiment: New iPhone 18 Pro promotions could support subscriber additions. Verizon is offering annual upgrades, trade-in savings of up to $1,200 for eligible customers, and incentives for switchers, including some offers that do not require a trade-in. These promotions may improve upgrade activity and customer acquisition, although they could pressure near-term margins. Switch to Verizon and get the new iPhone 18 Pro
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s multi-year agreement for more than 80 million miles of Corning optical fiber supports planned broadband expansion and potential AI data-center connectivity through 2032. Corning Just Locked In a Massive Verizon Fiber Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.7075 per share, preserving its annualized 5.7% yield but offering no new dividend-growth catalyst. Verizon Keeps Quarterly Dividend at $0.7075
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon removed its price-lock guarantee from the myPlan offering, potentially weakening a customer-friendly perk and signaling greater pricing flexibility in a competitive market. Verizon scales back its price-lock guarantee
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Kyle Malady sold $54,978 of shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction is relatively small but may create modest caution among investors. Verizon CEO sells shares

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.97.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2%

The firm has a market cap of $210.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $47.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 73.70%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.98, for a total transaction of $54,978.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 106,566 shares in the company, valued at $5,326,168.68. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 4,400 shares of company stock worth $219,142 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VZ. USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,790,000 after buying an additional 31,354 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. now owns 317,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,434,000 after acquiring an additional 25,156 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $97,059,000 after acquiring an additional 316,854 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.0% in the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 184,170 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,798,000 after acquiring an additional 103,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $2,171,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related technology services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, 5G connectivity, fixed wireless access, fiber-optic internet through Verizon Fios, home services, and connected-device solutions.

Through Verizon Business, the company serves enterprises, government agencies, and other organizations with communications networks, managed connectivity, cybersecurity, cloud and edge-computing services, unified communications, and Internet of Things solutions.