Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target Raised to $56.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Tigress Financial from $55.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Tigress Financial’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 33.06% from the company’s current price.

VZ has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Monday, hitting $42.09. 2,736,539 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,504,068. The stock has a market cap of $180.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.64 and its 200 day moving average is $41.96. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,085 shares of company stock worth $1,422,495 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).