Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $51.67 and last traded at $51.1750, with a volume of 3371282 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.19 and a 200-day moving average of $42.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 466,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $18,996,000 after acquiring an additional 89,826 shares during the period. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $1,056,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $88,000. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $293,000. Finally, Advisortrust Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $661,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

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.