Oppenheimer Raises Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target to $56.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Oppenheimer from $50.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price indicates a potential upside of 10.50% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE VZ opened at $50.68 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.80 and its 200 day moving average is $42.67.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisortrust Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $661,000. PeakShares LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,156,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,973.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 408,644 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,644,000 after buying an additional 398,611 shares during the last quarter. Union Savings Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,228,041 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $539,276,000 after buying an additional 1,442,853 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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.