Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 0.4% - Time to Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares rose 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $40.52 and last traded at $40.16. Approximately 7,090,626 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 18,413,277 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.51.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.84. The firm has a market cap of $169.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.44.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date 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 stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $4,548,163,000 after buying an additional 5,936,009 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,241 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,581,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,887 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,466,446,000 after purchasing an additional 535,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after buying an additional 565,842 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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).