Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price shot up 1.2% on Friday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $55.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high as $50.46 and last traded at $50.0840. 67,254,028 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 104% from the average session volume of 33,042,344 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.48.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Evercore boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.32.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $211.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.00.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.88%.

About Verizon Communications

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.