Analysts Set Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Price Target at $45.66

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.66.

Several analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $250,312,000. Finally, Third Point LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $173,325,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $45.00 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.24 and a 200-day moving average of $40.68. The company has a market cap of $189.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $45.05.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.678 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).