Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $10.60 and last traded at $40.5550, with a volume of 28088428 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.13.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call buying — Investors purchased ~276,566 call options on VZ Friday (≈+278% vs. typical volume), signaling short-term bullish bets or hedging ahead of catalysts. This elevated options flow can increase near-term upside trading interest.
• Positive Sentiment: Outpacing the wireless industry — Zacks highlights VZ outperforming peers over the past year thanks to 5G upgrades, network slicing and new partnerships, suggesting operational momentum that could support longer‑term revenue growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Near-term market beat — Zacks also notes VZ outpaced the broader market on Jan. 8, reflecting supportive sentiment from investors reacting to recent operational/news items. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Product/IoT initiatives highlighted — Coverage on Verizon’s event perks and Industrial IoT push points to potential revenue diversification beyond consumer wireless, a positive catalyst if adoption accelerates. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: High‑yield appeal — The Motley Fool recommends VZ as a top high‑yield dividend stock (yield ~7%), which can attract income-focused investors, especially if rate cuts materialize. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro rate narrative — Commentary that the Fed should cut rates this year could be supportive for high‑yield telecoms like VZ if realized, but this is speculative and timing/scale of cuts remain uncertain. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Job‑cut chatter and dividend concerns — Social media summaries report large workforce reductions and debate over dividend sustainability ahead of earnings, raising short‑term sentiment risk and questions about execution and cost structure. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: New 12‑month low flagged — Coverage noting VZ reached a new 12‑month low raises caution for momentum investors and underscores current downside pressure for the stock. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. BNP Paribas lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of 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 issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $170.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.54 and its 200 day moving average is $41.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,904,749 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,433,114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,733 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,322,700,000 after buying an additional 1,101,504 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,504,150,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,989,427,000 after buying an additional 557,576 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.