Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Research Coverage Started at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) in a research note published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $48.00 price objective on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.46.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.08 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $36.46 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.58 and its 200 day moving average is $41.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).