Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 1% on Analyst Downgrade

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was down 1% during mid-day trading on Friday after Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $44.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as low as $38.90 and last traded at $38.95. 38,404,000 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 20% from the average daily volume of 32,072,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.36.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on VZ. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.25.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory clearances allow Verizon to complete its Frontier acquisition, meaning Verizon will add roughly 30 million fiber passings and expanded cross‑sell opportunities that support longer‑term broadband/enterprise revenue growth. The companies expect to close the transaction on Jan. 20, 2026. GlobeNewswire: Regulatory Approvals
• Neutral Sentiment: A Pentagon contract awarded to AST SpaceMobile pushed that supplier’s stock higher; AST lists Verizon as a commercial partner. The news is an indirect positive for Verizon’s ecosystem (additional connectivity options and vendor momentum) but is not an immediate revenue driver for VZ. MarketBeat: AST SpaceMobile Pentagon Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon suffered a widespread multi‑hour wireless outage that affected hundreds of thousands of customers; the company is issuing a $20 credit to impacted customers. The outage raises short‑term customer satisfaction and regulatory‑risk concerns and has generated negative media and political attention. Reuters: Verizon offers $20 credit after outage
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein trimmed their price target from $46 to $44 and kept a “market perform” rating, signaling muted upside in consensus models and contributing to downward pressure on the stock. TickerReport / Benzinga: Bernstein cuts price target

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $2,504,150,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 51.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $637,812,000 after buying an additional 4,905,101 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,130,494,000 after buying an additional 4,615,075 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $915,552,000 after acquiring an additional 3,743,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.81. 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 firm has a market cap of $164.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.34.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

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.