Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s stock price traded down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $40.39 and last traded at $40.4060. 18,502,486 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 22,753,932 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.31.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.19. The firm has a market cap of $170.37 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors 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).