StockNews.com upgrades Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) to “Buy”

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get a Free Report) was upgraded from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating by stock researchers at StockNews.com in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on VZ. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equalweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

Read our latest report on VZ

Verizon Communications stock rises 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.68 on Thursday. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company’s fifty-day moving average is $40.46 and its 200-day moving average is $38.51. The company has a market cap of $166.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) posted its latest earnings results on Monday, April 22. The mobile phone company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter of the previous year, the company earned $1.20 in earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter increased 0.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post earnings per share of 4.6 for the current fiscal year.

Insider activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the CEO now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the shares are currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional trading in Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently changed their holdings in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the mobile phone company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 62.06% of the shares are held by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

(Get a free report)

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides communications, technology, information and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses and government agencies worldwide. It operates in two segments: Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).

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