Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Given New $51.00 Price Target at Wolfe Research

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective boosted by Wolfe Research from $50.00 to $51.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on VZ. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.29.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $39.54 on Friday. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 35,546 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $862,000. Patron Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 16,661 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 126,459 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,057,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 5,317,633 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $211,296,000 after purchasing an additional 83,941 shares during the last quarter. 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).