Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target to $42.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 5.85% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.33.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.68. 17,049,790 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,784,742. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.63. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 120,574 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,972,000 after acquiring an additional 7,809 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.3% in the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 5,406 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2,162.4% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 301,489 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $12,433,000 after purchasing an additional 288,163 shares in the last quarter. Marathon Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marathon Capital Management now owns 31,272 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,290,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,032,269 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $42,571,000 after buying an additional 92,590 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).