Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Climb 2.6% – Here’s What Happened

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price rose 2.6% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $42.79 and last traded at $42.7260. Approximately 28,931,138 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 27,314,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.65.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts view the selloff as a buying or swing-trade opportunity, arguing that Verizon remains undervalued and could deliver substantial returns if its core wireless and broadband businesses continue generating cash. The stock’s recent decline also included an estimated 1.5 percentage-point ex-dividend adjustment. Verizon’s Had a Difficult 6 Months
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon added 184,000 postpaid phone connections and 348,000 broadband connections in the second quarter, suggesting improving subscriber economics. The company has also continued raising guidance, supporting the investment case for its earnings and dividend. Verizon Keeps Raising Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon shares have begun recovering alongside broader telecom trading, but the market remains focused on how quickly SpaceX can commercialize satellite-to-mobile services. Telecom Stocks Rebound After Starlink Spectrum Move
• Negative Sentiment: SpaceX’s spectrum transaction would give Starlink Mobile as much as 14 MHz of low-band spectrum, improving coverage and increasing the potential threat to traditional carriers. The announcement triggered a broad telecom selloff and raised concerns about pressure on Verizon’s subscriber growth, pricing, and network economics. Telecom Stocks Tumble After SpaceX Spectrum Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analyst actions, including a downgrade and a Scotiabank price-target cut, have added pressure. Investors are also questioning whether Verizon’s yield adequately compensates for elevated debt, modest revenue growth, and the emerging satellite competition. Verizon Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Moffett Nathanson decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.80.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.04. The stock has a market cap of $177.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.04 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.75, for a total value of $50,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,674,094.50. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,700 shares of company stock worth $372,922. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.4% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. now owns 20,224 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.3% during the third quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 27,314 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Adelphi Trust Co grew its position in Verizon Communications by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Adelphi Trust Co now owns 6,373 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 492,341 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $22,584,000 after buying an additional 12,321 shares during the period. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.5% during the second quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,617 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,762,000 after acquiring an additional 2,544 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company headquartered in New York City and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VZ. The company was formed in 2000 through the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE and has developed into one of the largest communications providers in the United States.

Verizon’s consumer business provides wireless voice and data services, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, broadband, and related communications products.