Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Lowered to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VZ. Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.46.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded down $1.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $40.87. The stock had a trading volume of 30,206,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,387,375. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $37.15 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $172.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44. The business's fifty day moving average is $42.49 and its 200-day moving average is $41.91.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 59.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,958 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 5,207 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.2% in the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 23,214 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares during the period. Investment House LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 16.5% during the second quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 12,567 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 1,783 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $698,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).