Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Earns Outperform Rating from Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer restated their outperform rating on shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $48.00 price target on the cell phone carrier's stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wolfe Research raised Verizon Communications from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $44.50.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.84. 18,195,440 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,184,170. The company has a market cap of $180.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $40.74 and its 200 day moving average is $37.60. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.38%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.7% during the third quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $21,137,000 after purchasing an additional 413,869 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $5,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the third quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares during the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $306,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 183,615 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $5,951,000 after buying an additional 35,675 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).