Scotiabank Cuts Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target to $51.50

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Scotiabank from $54.50 to $51.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price suggests a potential upside of 19.74% from the stock’s current price.

VZ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.09.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $43.01. 2,793,865 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,148,631. The company has a market capitalization of $179.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.05. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. RKL Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised multiple earnings estimates for Verizon, including FY2027 EPS to $5.40 from $5.31, suggesting Wall Street sees better profit growth ahead. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) estimates update
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is expanding beyond traditional wireless with new connected-car partnerships, including BMW and KDDI, which could open additional revenue streams in 5G automotive services. Verizon expands into BMW connected cars
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary says Verizon still looks inexpensive relative to its earnings and dividend yield, which may attract income-focused investors looking for value. Verizon stock looks like a bargain

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.