Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the cell phone carrier’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 21.65% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $41.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.09. Verizon Communications has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $821,900,000 after purchasing an additional 12,220,777 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $250,312,000. Finally, Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $173,325,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).