Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Arete Research

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Arete Research to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE VZ traded down $0.40 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.63. The stock had a trading volume of 20,156,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,246,153. The company has a market capitalization of $175.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.38. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value 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 $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,127 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 4,360 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,723 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 5,391 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 73.0% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 230,710 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,201,000 after buying an additional 97,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 905,684 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $35,865,000 after buying an additional 46,042 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).