Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 0.8% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price traded down 0.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $38.47 and last traded at $38.61. 6,338,393 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 20,348,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.85. The company has a market capitalization of $163.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.99%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).