Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Up 2.4% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price rose 2.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $44.22 and last traded at $43.8450. 25,051,891 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 29,279,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.83.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is moving to sell 274 company-owned retail stores to franchisees and cut roughly 3,000 jobs, a restructuring that could lower operating costs and improve margins over time. Reuters: Verizon to shed 274 stores, lay off another 500 corporate employees
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction has been favorable to the cost-reset story, with articles noting VZ rose as investors responded to the store shakeup and expense reduction plans. Yahoo Finance: VZ Stock Rises — Verizon Moves To Slash Costs With Major Store Shakeup
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank slightly raised its FY2026 earnings estimate for Verizon and kept a Hold rating, suggesting only modest near-term earnings improvement. MarketBeat analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon is expected to report earnings on Friday, which keeps investors focused on whether the restructuring and broadband growth can offset slower revenue trends. American Banking News: Verizon Communications (VZ) to Post Earnings on Friday
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are cautioning that Verizon already trades at a premium relative to peers, which could limit upside if earnings growth disappoints. Trefis: VZ Earns Its Premium Over Peers. Now What?
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank also lowered its price target to $51.50, reflecting some skepticism about the pace of Verizon’s improvement. American Banking News: Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Lowered to $51.50 at Scotiabank

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on VZ. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.50 to $51.50 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.09.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7%

The firm has a market cap of $181.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $45.67 and its 200-day moving average is $46.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.02%.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after acquiring an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,168,080,000 after purchasing an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,117,471,000 after purchasing an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.