Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) – Analysts at William Blair issued their Q4 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Verizon Communications in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, January 24th. William Blair analyst J. Breen expects that the cell phone carrier will post earnings per share of $1.09 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Verizon Communications' current full-year earnings is $4.70 per share.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on VZ. Moffett Nathanson raised Verizon Communications from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 19th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 24th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications to $43.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Verizon Communications from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $41.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $35.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.14 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 24.60%. The company's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 211.6% in the second quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,515,955 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $584,800,000 after purchasing an additional 7,820,187 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.1% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 46,131,882 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,341,192,000 after purchasing an additional 6,042,854 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $181,862,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.3% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,604,493 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $540,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,756,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 30.0% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,763,481 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $952,245,000 after purchasing an additional 4,324,722 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.96% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 9th. This represents a $2.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.42%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 51.58%.

About Verizon Communications

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Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. Its Consumer segment provides postpaid and prepaid service plans; internet access on notebook computers and tablets; wireless equipment, including smartphones and other handsets; and wireless-enabled internet devices, such as tablets, and other wireless-enabled connected devices comprising smart watches.

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