Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Raised to $44.00 at UBS Group

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $43.00 to $44.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.27% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.70 on Wednesday, reaching $42.20. 8,188,323 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,483,816. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $32.97 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).