Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Verizon Communications observed a dramatic increase in short interest, reaching 83,990,000 shares, a rise of 344.2% from June's 18,910,000 shares.
• CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares at an average price of $44.10, indicating a 47.35% decrease in his stock ownership.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 6.3%.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 83,990,000 shares, agrowthof344.2% from the June 30th total of 18,910,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 18,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 18,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 10,300,369 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after acquiring an additional 8,695,736 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $792,937,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846,514 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.84 on Friday. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.69. The company has a market capitalization of $180.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36. 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 posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

About Verizon Communications

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.