Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 0% - What's Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 0% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $37.99 and last traded at $38.17. Approximately 4,900,751 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 21,418,996 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5 %

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $41.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.76. 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 $159.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.13%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,548,163,000 after buying an additional 5,936,009 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,815,534 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $216,266,000 after acquiring an additional 4,711,309 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $177,799,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 184.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $217,087,000 after acquiring an additional 3,519,258 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $274,052,000 after purchasing an additional 2,656,396 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).

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