Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $4.50-4.70 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $41.62 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $32.97 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $175.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.28.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.52%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 101.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.31.

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).