Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Up 1.9% After Analyst Upgrade
Key Points
- Verizon shares rose 1.9% after TD Cowen raised its price target from $54 to $56 and reiterated a Buy rating. The stock traded near $48.23, while the analyst consensus remains Hold with a $50.84 target.
- Recent quarterly results beat EPS estimates, with improved churn, lower promotional costs and broadband subscriber growth prompting Verizon to raise its 2026 earnings and free-cash-flow outlook. However, revenue fell 0.7% year over year and missed expectations.
- Verizon continues to attract income-focused investors with a quarterly dividend of $0.7075, representing a 5.9% annualized yield. Its potential $1 billion Google dark-fiber agreement offers an AI infrastructure growth opportunity, though competition, network spending and execution remain risks.
- Five stocks we like better than Verizon Communications.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Get
Free Report) was up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after TD Cowen
raised their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $56.00. TD Cowen
currently has a buy rating on the stock. Verizon Communications traded as high
as $49.01 and last traded at $48.2270. 29,602,075 shares were traded during
mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 29,171,410
shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.32.
Verizon
May Be an AI Infrastructure Stock Hiding in Plain Sight
VZ has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo
& Company upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to
$47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research
report on Monday. Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a
"hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Morgan
Stanley boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to
$52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research
note on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Verizon
Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on
the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their
price objective on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the
stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Nine
research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have
assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock
presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target
price of $50.84.
Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications
Telecom
Earnings Reveal a Sector That Finally Looks Healthier
Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon
Communications this week:
Positive Sentiment:Improved operating trends and
guidance: Verizon’s second-quarter results showed better-than-expected
EPS, lower customer churn, reduced promotional costs and solid broadband
subscriber growth. Management raised its 2026 financial and free-cash-flow
outlook, suggesting improved earnings quality and cash-generation
potential. VZ
Q2 Earnings Call Signals Faster Growth From Churn Gains
Positive Sentiment:Analyst support increased: At least
six analysts raised their price targets following the earnings report. TD Cowen
lifted its target to $56 with a Buy rating, while Scotiabank raised its target
to $52.50 and maintained a Sector Outperform rating. These revisions reinforce
the view that Verizon’s operational momentum may continue. VZ
Stock Is Up 22% This Year: How Much More Upside Does Wall Street See?
Positive Sentiment:AI infrastructure
opportunity: Verizon signed an agreement valued at roughly $1 billion with
Google/Alphabet involving dark-fiber connectivity. Investors view the deal,
along with Verizon’s AI Connect initiative, as a potential source of future
revenue and margin growth beyond traditional wireless services. A
$1 Billion Reason to Buy Verizon Stock Now After Earnings
Positive Sentiment:Income appeal remains intact: Commentary
highlighted Verizon’s strong free cash flow, dividend coverage of more than
200%, expanding EBITDA margins and potential for debt reduction and buybacks,
supporting its appeal to value and income investors. Verizon:
Deep Value For Income Investors
Neutral Sentiment:Mixed valuation signals: Morgan
Stanley raised its target to $52 but kept an Equal Weight rating. RBC, Wells
Fargo and Barclays also raised targets, but their revised targets remain below
or close to the current trading level, indicating that some analysts see
limited near-term upside.
Negative Sentiment:Execution and competition remain
risks: Verizon must sustain subscriber gains while managing competitive
pricing, heavy network investment and the execution risks associated with fiber
expansion and new AI-related services. The company’s latest quarterly revenue
was also below analysts’ expectations and declined slightly year over year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added
to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted
its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter.
Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,496 shares of the cell phone carrier's
stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 878 shares during the
period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon
Communications by 122.2% in the second quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management
LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $49,000 after
buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial
Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.2% during the
second quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 12,687 shares of
the cell phone carrier's stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 510
shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc grew its holdings
in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the second quarter. Marks Group Wealth
Management Inc now owns 49,720 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth
$2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Finally,
Latitude Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 3.1%
during the second quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 16,791 shares of the
cell phone carrier's stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 510
shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by
institutional investors and hedge funds.
Verizon Communications Stock Performance
No
Space For Panic: T-Mobile Shrugs Off The Starlink Threat
The company has a market capitalization of $201.37 billion,
a PE ratio of 12.56, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a
50-day moving average of $45.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.29.
The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a
debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get
Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July
24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the
consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.25
billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion.
Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of
11.64%.The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same
quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22
EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS.
Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5 EPS
for the current year.
Verizon Communications Dividend
Announcement
The company also recently announced
a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of
record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a
$2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is
Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 73.70%.
No comments:
Post a Comment