Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 0.1% - Here's Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $38.99 and last traded at $38.96. 22,820,763 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 23,830,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $164.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm's fifty day moving average is $41.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.83.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 75,252.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,810 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 12,793 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 65,679 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,709,000 after purchasing an additional 6,449 shares during the period. Carson Advisory Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 26,004 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 923,760 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $38,096,000 after purchasing an additional 8,617 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 32.7% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 78,190 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,225,000 after purchasing an additional 19,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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).