Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 2.9% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) traded down 2.9% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $48.32 and last traded at $48.3380. Approximately 28,157,159 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 27,284,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.76.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon continues to offer a substantial income return, maintaining its $0.7075 quarterly dividend, or $2.83 annualized. The next payment is scheduled for November 2, 2026. The roughly 5.6% yield may help support the shares among income-focused investors. Verizon’s Dividend Story: Reliable Income with Gradual Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to point to Verizon’s turnaround under CEO Dan Schulman, with the Frontier Communications acquisition expanding its fiber broadband footprint. The company’s steady cash flow and telecommunications scale remain supportive of its valuation and dividend strategy. Is Verizon the Year’s Best Telecom Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is launching Siyata PTT’s rugged SD7 Ultra 5G push-to-talk handset for mission-critical customers. The partnership broadens Verizon’s enterprise and public-safety communications offerings, although the near-term financial impact is likely limited. Siyata PTT and Verizon to Launch SD7 Ultra 5G Push-to-Talk Handset
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s higher iPhone 18 pricing could affect upgrade demand, trade-in values and customer financing economics across Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. The impact on Verizon is uncertain and depends on how customers respond to the increased device costs. How Apple’s iPhone 18 price increases impact your trade-in value
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon recently underperformed its telecommunications peers and fell while the broader market moved higher, indicating renewed investor caution. Earlier results also showed an earnings-per-share beat but revenue below expectations and a year-over-year revenue decline, highlighting ongoing growth concerns. Verizon Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.97.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $199.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.54.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.98, for a total transaction of $54,978.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,326,168.68. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 4,400 shares of company stock worth $219,142 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after acquiring an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,117,471,000 after buying an additional 8,289,877 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,743,274,000 after purchasing an additional 5,075,794 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related technology services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, 5G connectivity, fixed wireless access, fiber-optic internet through Verizon Fios, home services, and connected-device solutions.

Through Verizon Business, the company serves enterprises, government agencies, and other organizations with communications networks, managed connectivity, cybersecurity, cloud and edge-computing services, unified communications, and Internet of Things solutions.