Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Cut to $44.00 by Analysts at KeyCorp

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its target price decreased by KeyCorp from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.16 on Friday. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42. The firm has a market cap of $173.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. 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’s 50 day moving average is $40.93 and its 200-day moving average is $40.53.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after buying an additional 1,216,963 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,882,164,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 38,357,031 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,581,848,000 after buying an additional 1,106,887 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,561,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,466,446,000 after buying an additional 535,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after buying an additional 10,882,873 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by 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).