Verizon Communications (VZ) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Monday

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is scheduled to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Monday, April 22nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.12 per share for the quarter. Verizon Communications has set its FY24 guidance at $4.50-4.70 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance at 4.500-4.700 EPS.Parties that wish to register for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Verizon Communications to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $40.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $170.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.56 and a 200-day moving average of $38.29. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.9% during the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 174.0% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,675,000 after buying an additional 58,283 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $60,828,000 after buying an additional 113,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $567,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Citigroup increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

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).