Brokerages Set Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Target Price at $50.59

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.5938.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price target on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $891,000. HORAN Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 88,643 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,350,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 99.4% during the first quarter. DJE Kapital AG now owns 3,328,343 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $166,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659,523 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 89.3% during the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,599 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 21.2% during the first quarter. Atlantic Family Wealth LLC now owns 7,411 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $47.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.29. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The company has a market capitalization of $197.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The business had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.