StockNews.com Upgrades Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) to Strong-Buy

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Friday.

VZ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ traded up $0.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.15. The stock had a trading volume of 17,014,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,504,627. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $181.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.53. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $36.46 and a one year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the second quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,760 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 54,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).

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