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 Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $57.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 8th. Barclays downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 22nd. DZ Bank cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, April 29th. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.50.
Verizon Communications Stock Performance
Shares of VZ Stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Monday, reaching $45.20. 64,093 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,086,678. The company has a market capitalization of $189.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm's 50-day moving average is $48.76 and its 200 day moving average is $50.71. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $43.76 and a 1 year high of $56.20.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $33.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 7th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.30%.
Insider Activity at Verizon Communications
In related news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.42, for a total transaction of $80,112.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,717,582.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,674 shares of company stock valued at $237,377. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.
