Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Invests $23.49 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 576,603 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $23,485,000. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 5.2% of Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after buying an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after buying an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,357,158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $47.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.55. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The firm has a market cap of $196.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Dbs Bank cut Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

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.