Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Earns Buy Rating from Tigress Financial

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by stock analysts at Tigress Financial in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $55.00 price target on the cell phone carrier's stock. Tigress Financial's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 37.93% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.41 on Thursday, reaching $39.88. 4,433,063 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,496,529. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $40.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.58. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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).