Verizon Communications - VZ Stock Forecast, Price & News

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.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $45.56 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $43.76 and a fifty-two week high of $56.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $191.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.66.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 26.95% and a net margin of 15.48%. The firm had revenue of $33.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 8th were given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 7th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.62%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 51.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $57.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 25th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, July 7th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $59.00 to $58.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $77,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,825,950. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,674 shares of company stock worth $237,377. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.