Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.68 Per Share

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 4th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.678 per share by the cell phone carrier on Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67.

Verizon Communications has raised its dividend by an average of 2.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 19 years. Verizon Communications has a payout ratio of 56.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Verizon Communications to earn $4.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.66 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.0%.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $173.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.78.

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).