Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Down 2.9% – Here’s Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) dropped 2.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $48.32 and last traded at $48.3380. Approximately 28,157,159 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 27,284,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.97.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.55. The firm has a market cap of $200.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.98, for a total value of $54,978.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,566 shares in the company, valued at $5,326,168.68. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,400 shares of company stock valued at $219,142. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Gill Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 74.6% during the second quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the 4th quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related technology services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, 5G connectivity, fixed wireless access, fiber-optic internet through Verizon Fios, home services, and connected-device solutions.

Through Verizon Business, the company serves enterprises, government agencies, and other organizations with communications networks, managed connectivity, cybersecurity, cloud and edge-computing services, unified communications, and Internet of Things solutions.