Oppenheimer Issues Positive Forecast for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Oppenheimer from $50.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price indicates a potential upside of 10.50% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. William Blair raised shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Williams Trading set a $54.00 price target on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $50.68 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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.