Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1.2% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Verizon shares rose 1.2% to about $48.63 in Tuesday trading, despite volume running roughly 50% below the average daily level.
• Analysts recently raised several price targets, but the overall consensus remains “Hold”, with nine Buy ratings and 12 Hold ratings and an average target of $50.84.
• Verizon exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $1.30 in EPS versus $1.27 expected, while revenue fell short of estimates and declined 0.7% year over year. The company also pays a $0.7075 quarterly dividend, representing a 5.8% yield.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) shot up 1.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $49.01 and last traded at $48.6320. 14,369,180 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 28,457,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $202.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $45.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.11.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,117,471,000 after purchasing an additional 8,289,877 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,286,423,000 after purchasing an additional 7,509,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after buying an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

About Verizon Communications

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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