Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 1.1% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price traded down 1.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $40.65 and last traded at $40.7550. 31,780,874 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 41% from the average session volume of 22,534,889 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $171.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.57.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The business had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Verizon Communications

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).