Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1.1% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Verizon shares rose 1.1% after Freedom Broker upgraded the stock from “hold” to “buy” and raised its price target from $53 to $55.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: 13 analysts rate Verizon a “buy” and 17 a “hold,” resulting in an overall “hold” consensus and an average price target of $50.82.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.31, ahead of estimates, while revenue increased 1.5% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.7075 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 6.5%.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Freedom Broker upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Freedom Broker now has a $55.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $53.00. Verizon Communications traded as high as $44.46 and last traded at $43.6450. Approximately 22,188,202 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 27,424,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.18.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.82.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares in the company, valued at $4,251,238. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $516,373 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Raised 2026 outlook: Verizon increased its 2026 guidance, reinforcing confidence in postpaid subscriber growth, earnings and free-cash-flow performance. Verizon raises 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend appears cash-funded: Verizon used approximately 49% of free cash flow to fund its dividend, supporting the sustainability of its roughly 6.6% yield despite elevated leverage. Verizon dividend cash flow analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Debt-management action: Verizon launched offers to repurchase up to $500 million of five note series for cash, a move that could help manage its debt profile, although the immediate financial impact is limited. Verizon note tender offers
• Positive Sentiment: Broker support: Freedom Broker upgraded Verizon to “buy” and raised its price target to $55, citing potential upside from current levels. Freedom Broker Verizon upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Satellite competition: CEO Dan Schulman said SpaceX would likely need years and substantial capital to become a full wireless competitor. Verizon remains open to selective Starlink cooperation but will not support arrangements that directly strengthen a rival. Verizon and SpaceX competition
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution: Morgan Stanley, TD Cowen, Citi, Barclays, Daiwa, BNP Paribas Exane and Goldman Sachs all lowered expectations or price targets, underscoring concerns about Verizon’s growth outlook and valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Kyle Malady sold $47,300 of Verizon stock under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction was small relative to his remaining holdings, but repeated scheduled sales may weigh modestly on sentiment. Verizon CEO stock sale

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,117,471,000 after acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,743,274,000 after acquiring an additional 5,075,794 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 20.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,915,882,000 after purchasing an additional 6,580,820 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 6.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,734,998 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,643,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 6.7% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,882,074 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $884,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305,471 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $181.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.26. 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 50 day simple moving average of $47.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.69.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.04 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 73.70%.

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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