Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 2.6% – Should You Buy?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) shares rose 2.6% on Friday. The company traded as high as $45.16 and last traded at $44.81. Approximately 26,593,471 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 27,420,668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.66.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Freedom Broker raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.05.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.73. The stock has a market cap of $186.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 105,984 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 45,416 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 108,263 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,966,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 12.8% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 44,635 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 5,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 58,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

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.