Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Declares $0.69 Quarterly Dividend

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of 0.69 per share by the cell phone carrier on Monday, February 2nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th.

Verizon Communications has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 20 years. Verizon Communications has a payout ratio of 57.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Verizon Communications to earn $4.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 56.8%.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $41.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $174.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.77 and its 200-day moving average is $42.38. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

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).