Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Verizon Communications Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 21 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $47.65.
• The company reported a 5.2% year-over-year increase in revenue for the last quarter, achieving $34.50 billion, and exceeded earnings estimates with $1.22 earnings per share.
• Verizon recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share, reflecting a yield of 6.3% and a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.6471.

Several analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.6%

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $43.21. The stock had a trading volume of 18,496,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,403,802. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $182.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $2,640,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 16,046 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 111,115 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,808,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, NWF Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 468.4% during the 2nd quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. now owns 65,113 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 53,657 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).