Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading 0.5% Higher – Still a Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price rose 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $42.24 and last traded at $42.21. Approximately 3,551,874 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 22,527,803 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $178.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 over the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Verizon Communications

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).