Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Rating Lowered by Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Verizon Communications has been downgraded from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" by Weiss Ratings, indicating a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $47.41, suggesting some confidence in the company's future performance.
• In its last earnings report, Verizon exceeded expectations with $1.22 EPS, providing a revenue of $34.50 billion, which is a 5.2% increase compared to the previous year.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report released on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,276,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,663,010. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's 50-day moving average is $42.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.99.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after acquiring an additional 4,615,075 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,009,388,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205,449 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,175 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,322,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $2,504,150,000. 62.06% of the stock is 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).

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