Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 1.9% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Verizon shares rose 1.9% after TD Cowen raised its price target from $54 to $56 and reiterated a Buy rating. The stock traded near $48.23, while the analyst consensus remains Hold with a $50.84 target.
• Recent quarterly results beat EPS estimates, with improved churn, lower promotional costs and broadband subscriber growth prompting Verizon to raise its 2026 earnings and free-cash-flow outlook. However, revenue fell 0.7% year over year and missed expectations.
• Verizon continues to attract income-focused investors with a quarterly dividend of $0.7075, representing a 5.9% annualized yield. Its potential $1 billion Google dark-fiber agreement offers an AI infrastructure growth opportunity, though competition, network spending and execution remain risks.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) was up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $56.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $49.01 and last traded at $48.2270. 29,602,075 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 29,171,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.32.

VZ has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.84.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Improved operating trends and guidance: Verizon’s second-quarter results showed better-than-expected EPS, lower customer churn, reduced promotional costs and solid broadband subscriber growth. Management raised its 2026 financial and free-cash-flow outlook, suggesting improved earnings quality and cash-generation potential. VZ Q2 Earnings Call Signals Faster Growth From Churn Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support increased: At least six analysts raised their price targets following the earnings report. TD Cowen lifted its target to $56 with a Buy rating, while Scotiabank raised its target to $52.50 and maintained a Sector Outperform rating. These revisions reinforce the view that Verizon’s operational momentum may continue. VZ Stock Is Up 22% This Year: How Much More Upside Does Wall Street See?
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure opportunity: Verizon signed an agreement valued at roughly $1 billion with Google/Alphabet involving dark-fiber connectivity. Investors view the deal, along with Verizon’s AI Connect initiative, as a potential source of future revenue and margin growth beyond traditional wireless services. A $1 Billion Reason to Buy Verizon Stock Now After Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Income appeal remains intact: Commentary highlighted Verizon’s strong free cash flow, dividend coverage of more than 200%, expanding EBITDA margins and potential for debt reduction and buybacks, supporting its appeal to value and income investors. Verizon: Deep Value For Income Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed valuation signals: Morgan Stanley raised its target to $52 but kept an Equal Weight rating. RBC, Wells Fargo and Barclays also raised targets, but their revised targets remain below or close to the current trading level, indicating that some analysts see limited near-term upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and competition remain risks: Verizon must sustain subscriber gains while managing competitive pricing, heavy network investment and the execution risks associated with fiber expansion and new AI-related services. The company’s latest quarterly revenue was also below analysts’ expectations and declined slightly year over year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,496 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 878 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 122.2% in the second quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.2% during the second quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,687 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the second quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 49,720 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 3.1% during the second quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 16,791 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $201.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

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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