TD Cowen Upgrades Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) to “Strong-Buy”

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) was upgraded by TD Cowen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

VZ has been the subject of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $38.17 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.76. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 244.1% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares in 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).