Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Raised to Sell at BidaskClub

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was upgraded by investment analysts at BidaskClub from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on VZ. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “hold” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, April 7th. Barclays PLC cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. SunTrust Banks, Inc. started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.04.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) opened at 48.89 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 0.55. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $42.80 and a 1-year high of $54.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.05 and its 200-day moving average is $47.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.96. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 63.06%. The firm had revenue of $30.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post $3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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In related news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 610 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.34, for a total value of $27,657.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,039 shares in the company, valued at $409,828.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,830 shares of company stock valued at $84,229 in the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Davy Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Davy Asset Management Ltd now owns 240,905 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,753,000 after buying an additional 4,254 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,003,134 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $53,543,000 after buying an additional 41,016 shares during the last quarter. Menta Capital LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Menta Capital LLC now owns 84,550 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,513,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $1,965,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 194,769 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,397,000 after buying an additional 1,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides communications, information and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses and governmental agencies. Its segments include Wireless and Wireline. The Wireless segment offers communications products and services, including wireless voice and data services and equipment sales, to consumer, business and government customers across the United States.