Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 1.4% - What's Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $38.97 and last traded at $38.86. Approximately 23,987,092 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 36% from the average daily volume of 17,659,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank raised their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 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, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.03 and a 200-day moving average of $41.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 3.17 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 444,460 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $18,330,000 after purchasing an additional 39,870 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.6% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 48,264 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,990,000 after acquiring an additional 3,412 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.1% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 679,435 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $28,020,000 after buying an additional 56,534 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 16,246.1% during the second quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 93,990 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,876,000 after buying an additional 93,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.5% during the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 29,857 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 3,792 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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).

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