Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Trading Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $39.24 and last traded at $39.35. Approximately 26,380,694 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 31,398,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.83.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory approvals complete for Frontier acquisition — Verizon expects the transaction to close Jan. 20, bringing roughly 30 million fiber passings and enabling cross‑selling of fiber and 5G services, which could materially expand growth runway and ARPU over time. GlobeNewswire: Approvals to Complete Transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile wins Pentagon contract — headlines lifted ASTS shares and remind investors Verizon has partnerships with LEO satellite providers, which could support future wholesale or coverage initiatives, but the news is primarily a catalyst for ASTS rather than VZ. MarketBeat: Pentagon Deal Sends AST SpaceMobile Soaring
• Negative Sentiment: Widespread outage and $20 customer credits — a multi‑hour nationwide outage tied to a software issue triggered customer complaints and scrutiny; Verizon is offering a $20 redeemable credit to affected users, which raises short‑term costs and reputational risk and has prompted calls for mandatory refunds. This outage is the principal near‑term negative driving sentiment. Investopedia: Why Verizon Customers Are Getting $20 Payouts
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price‑target cut — Sanford C. Bernstein trimmed its VZ target from $46 to $44 and moved to Market Perform, signaling more cautious near‑term expectations; the change tempers upside in the short term. TickerReport / Benzinga: Analyst Price Target Cut

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. BNP Paribas Exane cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.25.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.34.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 58.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advantage Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.