Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Target Cut by Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays cut Verizon’s price target from $46 to $44 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating. The broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with an average target price of $50.53.
• Verizon’s latest quarter delivered adjusted EPS of $1.31, ahead of the $1.27 estimate, while revenue rose 1.5% year over year to $34.31 billion but fell short of the $34.77 billion consensus.
• Shares opened at $43.22, near the lower end of their 52-week range, and the company’s stock is largely institutionally held, with investors owning 62.06% of outstanding shares.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Barclays from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the cell phone carrier's stock. Barclays's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.81% from the stock's previous close.

VZ has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $50.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.22 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $38.68 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.65. The stock has a market cap of $179.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.48, for a total value of $48,928.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,446,487.68. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 9,900 shares of company stock valued at $469,073 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gill Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 74.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Verizon Communications News

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong customer additions and raised outlook: Verizon added 406,000 postpaid phone subscribers and 137,000 postpaid accounts in the third quarter, its strongest third-quarter phone performance in five years. Management raised its 2026 forecasts for adjusted EPS, free cash flow and postpaid phone additions. Verizon third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings and AI infrastructure deal: Adjusted earnings of $1.31 per share exceeded the $1.27 consensus estimate, while Verizon signed an agreement valued at more than $2 billion with Amazon Web Services to provide infrastructure supporting AI workloads. The company also reported improving margins, strong cash flow and broadband growth. Verizon outlook and Amazon deal
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX threat viewed as longer term: CEO Dan Schulman said Verizon could work with satellite providers such as Starlink to supplement wireless coverage, but does not intend to let SpaceX use Verizon’s network to compete directly for mobile customers. He suggested SpaceX could be years—and require substantial investment—away from becoming a major U.S. wireless rival. Verizon CEO on Starlink
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss overshadowed operating gains: Third-quarter revenue rose 1.5% year over year to $34.31 billion, below the $34.77 billion analyst estimate. The top-line miss outweighed the EPS beat, contributing to the stock’s decline and reinforcing concerns about Verizon’s limited growth in its mature core business. Why Verizon stock is down
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution remains: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target from $52 to $50 and maintained an “equal weight” rating, while broader sell-side coverage remains centered on “hold” recommendations. Morgan Stanley Verizon rating

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.

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