Erste Group Bank Has Bullish Estimate for VZ FY2027 Earnings

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) – Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2027 earnings estimates for Verizon Communications in a research note issued on Thursday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the cell phone carrier will post earnings per share of $5.28 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $5.27. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Verizon Communications’ current full-year earnings is $4.69 per share.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS.

VZ has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.56.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.2%

VZ opened at $48.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $204.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,357,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,286,423,000 after buying an additional 7,509,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.88%.

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.