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

Key Points

• Verizon Communications Inc. has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from twenty brokerages, with an average price target of $47.35 for the next 12 months.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.19, and a revenue of $34.50 billion, up 5.2% compared to the previous year.
• Verizon recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, which results in an annualized dividend yield of 6.1%.

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.3529.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $50,393,000 after acquiring an additional 76,083 shares during the period. Rempart Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,079,000 after acquiring an additional 107,200 shares during the period. Finally, Welch Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,126,000 after acquiring an additional 63,474 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.26 on Thursday. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $186.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.36. The company's 50-day moving average is $42.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

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).

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