Raymond James Raises Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Price Target to $48.00

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target increased by Raymond James from $44.00 to $48.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $46.09.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.89 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.94. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $45.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $188.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.04%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Leo Wealth LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,346,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 283,160 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 37,732 shares in the last quarter. Mosley Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $433,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 22,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 647,218 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $24,400,000 after buying an additional 428,776 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).