Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 0.7% – Here’s Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares traded up 0.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $40.78 and last traded at $40.83. 2,925,608 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 23,313,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $172.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 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).