Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Climb 2.6% – Here’s Why

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s share price rose 2.6% during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $45.16 and last traded at $44.81. 26,593,471 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 27,420,668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.66.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Better earnings and higher guidance: Verizon reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $1.31, above the $1.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 1.5% year over year. Growth in postpaid phone additions and broadband, lower promotional spending and margin expansion helped support an increase to the company’s 2026 outlook. Verizon raises 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Income appeal remains strong: Verizon’s dividend yield is above 6%, the company has raised its payout for 20 consecutive years, and dividends consumed approximately 49% of recent free cash flow. This supports the view that the payout is financially sustainable despite Verizon’s substantial debt load. Verizon dividend analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and supplier investment: Freedom Broker upgraded VZ from “hold” to “buy” and raised its price target to $55. Separately, Verizon announced a $5 billion, five-year commitment to U.S. small-business suppliers, which could strengthen procurement relationships and support its network expansion ecosystem. Freedom Broker upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX competition remains a long-term issue: Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said a fully competitive SpaceX wireless network could take years and require enormous investment. Verizon remains open to a Starlink partnership, but not one that would enable direct competition through Verizon’s infrastructure. Verizon CEO on Starlink partnership
• Negative Sentiment: Countervailing concerns: Several firms, including Barclays, Daiwa, Goldman Sachs and TD Cowen, lowered their price targets. Investors are also watching reports of declining phone upgrades, while CEO Kyle Malady’s recurring Rule 10b5-1 stock sales may weigh modestly on sentiment. Verizon phone upgrade trend

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.05.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $186.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 72.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total value of $47,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 98,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,251,238. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $516,373 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VZ. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,117,471,000 after purchasing an additional 8,289,877 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,915,882,000 after purchasing an additional 6,580,820 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $239,584,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,743,274,000 after buying an additional 5,075,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $184,260,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.