Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Upgraded at Freedom Broker

Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $55.00 price objective on the cell phone carrier’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $53.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on VZ. Moffett Nathanson raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Arete Research decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.05.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.81 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $38.68 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $186.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.73.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 11.78%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 72.19%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total value of $47,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 98,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,251,238. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $516,373 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 58,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.3% in the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,239 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Compass Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.6% in the third quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC now owns 34,788 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,596,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 747,087 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,351,000 after buying an additional 63,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $625,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Better earnings and higher guidance: Verizon reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $1.31, above the $1.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 1.5% year over year. Growth in postpaid phone additions and broadband, lower promotional spending and margin expansion helped support an increase to the company’s 2026 outlook. Verizon raises 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Income appeal remains strong: Verizon’s dividend yield is above 6%, the company has raised its payout for 20 consecutive years, and dividends consumed approximately 49% of recent free cash flow. This supports the view that the payout is financially sustainable despite Verizon’s substantial debt load. Verizon dividend analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and supplier investment: Freedom Broker upgraded VZ from “hold” to “buy” and raised its price target to $55. Separately, Verizon announced a $5 billion, five-year commitment to U.S. small-business suppliers, which could strengthen procurement relationships and support its network expansion ecosystem. Freedom Broker upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX competition remains a long-term issue: Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said a fully competitive SpaceX wireless network could take years and require enormous investment. Verizon remains open to a Starlink partnership, but not one that would enable direct competition through Verizon’s infrastructure. Verizon CEO on Starlink partnership
• Negative Sentiment: Countervailing concerns: Several firms, including Barclays, Daiwa, Goldman Sachs and TD Cowen, lowered their price targets. Investors are also watching reports of declining phone upgrades, while CEO Kyle Malady’s recurring Rule 10b5-1 stock sales may weigh modestly on sentiment. Verizon phone upgrade trend

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.