Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Rating Upgraded by Argus

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Argus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $39.41. 18,393,033 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,042,195. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.60. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $165.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

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 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,892,000 after acquiring an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $3,376,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 202,521 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,095,000 after acquiring an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $48,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. Finally, Burney Co. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,463,000 after buying an additional 43,472 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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).