Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 0% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) traded down 0% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $39.54 and last traded at $39.60. 8,649,079 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 17,898,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.2 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 762.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at $48,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Verizon Communications

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).