Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 3.7% – Here’s Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price shot up 3.7% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $45.29 and last traded at $45.1550. 28,225,234 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the average session volume of 27,250,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.56.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s approximately 6.5% dividend yield and $0.7075 quarterly payout remain attractive to income-oriented investors. The company’s dividend is supported by recurring telecom cash flows, although its payout ratio is relatively high. AT&T Froze Its Dividend After a 2022 Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon reports third-quarter earnings on October 26, with analysts expecting roughly $1.27 EPS. Investors will focus on wireless subscriber additions, churn, service revenue, broadband growth and management’s outlook. Strong operating metrics could offset broader competitive concerns. Verizon Q3 2026 Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi estimates SpaceX’s national wireless service is unlikely to launch before 2029, but reported efforts to secure access to as many as 80,000 U.S. cell sites—and SpaceX’s roughly $8 billion spectrum deal—have raised questions about whether the timetable could move forward. Starlink Is Years Away From Competing With AT&T and Verizon
• Negative Sentiment: SpaceX’s reported negotiations with tower companies imply a potential fourth nationwide wireless competitor. Investors fear Starlink could pressure Verizon’s pricing, customer growth and returns on its network investments; the news also contributed to weakness across major wireless carriers while tower stocks benefited. SpaceX Just Made Cell Towers Cool Again
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank made a minor reduction to its FY2027 EPS forecast, lowering it to $5.25 from $5.26. The small adjustment is not significant by itself, but it reinforces the cautious analyst backdrop ahead of earnings. Verizon analyst estimate
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares for approximately $48,928 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction was only about 1.09% of his holdings, limiting its significance, but repeated planned sales may add modest negative sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.80.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.4%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.65. The company has a market capitalization of $185.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.48, for a total value of $48,928.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,446,487.68. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 9,900 shares of company stock valued at $469,073 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,743,274,000 after purchasing an additional 5,075,794 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,915,882,000 after purchasing an additional 6,580,820 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,734,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,643,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,634 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,882,074 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $884,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305,471 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.