Verizon Communications Inc., through its subsidiaries, offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. Its Consumer segment provides postpaid and prepaid service plans; internet access on notebook computers and tablets; wireless equipment, including smartphones and other handsets; and wireless-enabled internet devices, such as tablets, and other wireless-enabled connected devices comprising smart watches. It also provides residential fixed connectivity solutions, such as internet, video, and voice services; and sells network access to mobile virtual network operators. As of December 31, 2021, it had approximately 115 million wireless retail connections, 7 million wireline broadband connections, and 4 million Fios video connections. The company's Business segment provides network connectivity products, including private networking, private cloud connectivity, virtual and software defined networking, and internet access services; and internet protocol-based voice and video services, unified communications and collaboration tools, and customer contact center solutions. This segment also offers a suite of management and data security services; domestic and global voice and data solutions, such as voice calling, messaging services, conferencing, contact center solutions, and private line and data access networks; customer premises equipment; installation, maintenance, and site services; and Internet of Things products and services. As of December 31, 2021, it had approximately 27 million wireless retail postpaid connections and 477 thousand wireline broadband connections. The company was formerly known as Bell Atlantic Corporation and changed its name to Verizon Communications Inc. in June 2000. Verizon Communications Inc. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank cut Verizon Communications from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 22nd. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, July 7th. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $59.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.50.
Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3 %
Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.68 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $43.76 and a 12 month high of $56.20. The company has a market capitalization of $187.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.33. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $49.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $33.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 26.95% and a net margin of 15.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 8th were issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 7th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.73%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 51.30%.
Insider Activity at Verizon Communications
In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.94, for a total value of $79,364.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,913.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,674 shares of company stock valued at $237,377. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
