Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.68

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 4th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of 0.678 per share by the cell phone carrier on Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67.

Verizon Communications has raised its dividend by an average of 2.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 19 consecutive years. Verizon Communications has a dividend payout ratio of 56.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Verizon Communications to earn $4.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.66 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.0%.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.31 on Friday. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $173.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.78.

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).