Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Down 0.8% – Here’s Why

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) dropped 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $38.47 and last traded at $38.61. Approximately 6,338,393 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 20,348,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.54.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $159.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.29 and a 200 day moving average of $41.79. 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 posted its earnings results 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 firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.17%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 75,252.9% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,810 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 12,793 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 65,679 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,709,000 after buying an additional 6,449 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 78,190 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,225,000 after buying an additional 19,258 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.0% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,030,151 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $289,923,000 after acquiring an additional 299,540 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

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).