Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-nine ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.05.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th.

Verizon Communications News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Better earnings and higher guidance: Verizon reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $1.31, above the $1.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 1.5% year over year. Growth in postpaid phone additions and broadband, lower promotional spending and margin expansion helped support an increase to the company’s 2026 outlook. Verizon raises 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Income appeal remains strong: Verizon’s dividend yield is above 6%, the company has raised its payout for 20 consecutive years, and dividends consumed approximately 49% of recent free cash flow. This supports the view that the payout is financially sustainable despite Verizon’s substantial debt load. Verizon dividend analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and supplier investment: Freedom Broker upgraded VZ from “hold” to “buy” and raised its price target to $55. Separately, Verizon announced a $5 billion, five-year commitment to U.S. small-business suppliers, which could strengthen procurement relationships and support its network expansion ecosystem. Freedom Broker upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX competition remains a long-term issue: Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said a fully competitive SpaceX wireless network could take years and require enormous investment. Verizon remains open to a Starlink partnership, but not one that would enable direct competition through Verizon’s infrastructure. Verizon CEO on Starlink partnership
• Negative Sentiment: Countervailing concerns: Several firms, including Barclays, Daiwa, Goldman Sachs and TD Cowen, lowered their price targets. Investors are also watching reports of declining phone upgrades, while CEO Kyle Malady’s recurring Rule 10b5-1 stock sales may weigh modestly on sentiment. Verizon phone upgrade trend

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares in the company, valued at $4,251,238. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Gill Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 74.6% in the second quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.81 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $47.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.73. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $38.68 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The firm has a market cap of $186.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.19%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.