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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Friday, July 8th. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, April 25th. Credit Suisse Group cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, June 24th. Finally, Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.68.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.42. The stock had a trading volume of 19,167,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,904,363. The company has a market capitalization of $186.55 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $43.76 and a 1 year high of $55.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.53. 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 data on Friday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $33.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 26.95%. Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $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 business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 7th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $77,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,825,950. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,674 shares of company stock worth $237,377. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.