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

Key Points

• Verizon has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 21 firms, with 9 buy ratings, 1 strong buy, and 11 hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $50.59.
• Recent analyst action has been mostly constructive, including target price increases from firms like Scotiabank, JPMorgan, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, and RBC. Scotiabank was the most bullish in the group, upgrading Verizon to sector outperform and lifting its target to $54.50.
• Verizon also reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.28 versus estimates of $1.21, while revenue came in slightly below expectations. The company reiterated guidance for FY 2026 EPS of 4.950–4.990.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.5938.

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.3% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 335,856 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,761,000 after buying an additional 13,787 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $13,521,000 after buying an additional 17,495 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.0% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 379,174 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $16,665,000 after buying an additional 46,699 shares during the period. Econ Financial Services Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,184,000 after buying an additional 14,862 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 18.4% in the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $6,196,000 after buying an additional 21,915 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $47.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $199.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The company's 50-day moving average price is $47.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc NYSE: VZ is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company's consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.

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