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How to buy Verizon Communications stock | $59.39
Own Verizon Communications stock in just a few minutes.
Verizon Communications Inc is a telecom services business based in the US. Verizon Communications shares (VZ) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Verizon Communications employs 135,300 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$129.7 billion.
How to buy shares in Verizon Communications
- Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
- Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
- Search for Verizon Communications Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: VZ. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
- Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Verizon Communications reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
- Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$59.39, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Verizon Communications, depending on your broker.
- Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Verizon Communications. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.
What's in this guide?
- VZ shares summary
- Compare share dealing platforms
- Is VZ stock a buy or sell?
- Stock performance over time
- Can I short VZ shares?
- Is VZ suitable for ethical investing?
- Are VZ shares over-valued?
- Verizon Communications's financials
- How volatile are VZ shares?
- Does Verizon Communications pay a dividend?
- Have VZ shares ever split?
- Other common questions
Verizon Communications share price
Use our graph to track the performance of VZ stocks over time.Verizon Communications shares at a glance
Information last updated 2020-09-24.
| Latest market close | USD$59.39 |
|---|---|
| 52-week range | USD$48.84 - USD$62.1499 |
| 50-day moving average | USD$59.41 |
| 200-day moving average | USD$56.6071 |
| Wall St. target price | USD$61.17 |
| PE ratio | 13.1147 |
| Dividend yield | USD$2.51 (4.26%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | USD$4.62 |
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Is it a good time to buy Verizon Communications stock?
The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.
Verizon Communications price performance over time
Historical closes compared with the close of $59.39 from 2020-09-25
| 1 week (2020-09-24) | 0.34% |
|---|---|
| 1 month (2020-09-01) | 0.39% |
| 3 months (2020-07-01) | 8.63% |
| 6 months (2020-04-01) | 12.23% |
| 1 year (2019-10-01) | -0.77% |
|---|---|
| 2 years (2018-10-01) | 10.31% |
| 3 years (2017-09-29) | 20.00% |
| 5 years (2015-10-01) | 38.24% |
Is Verizon Communications under- or over-valued?
Valuing Verizon Communications stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Verizon Communications's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
Verizon Communications's P/E ratio
Verizon Communications's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 13x. In other words, Verizon Communications shares trade at around 13x recent earnings.
That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.
Verizon Communications's PEG ratio
Verizon Communications's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 4.0952. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Verizon Communications's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
Verizon Communications's EBITDA
Verizon Communications's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is USD$47.5 billion.
The EBITDA is a measure of a Verizon Communications's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
Verizon Communications financials
| Revenue TTM | USD$129.7 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 23.87% |
| Gross profit TTM | USD$77.1 billion |
| Return on assets TTM | 6.72% |
| Return on equity TTM | 32.25% |
| Profit margin | 14.76% |
| Book value | $15.151 |
| Market capitalisation | USD$243.8 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
Shorting Verizon Communications shares
There are currently 30.1 million Verizon Communications shares held short by investors – that's known as Verizon Communications's "short interest". This figure is 4.9% down from 31.6 million last month.
There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Verizon Communications shares can be evaluated.
Verizon Communications's "short interest ratio" (SIR)
Verizon Communications's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Verizon Communications shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Verizon Communications shares traded daily (recently around 11.3 million). Verizon Communications's SIR currently stands at 2.65. In other words for every 100,000 Verizon Communications shares traded daily on the market, roughly 2650 shares are currently held short.
However Verizon Communications's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Verizon Communications shares, or, against the total number of tradable Verizon Communications shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Verizon Communications's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Verizon Communications shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0073% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Verizon Communications shares, roughly 7 shares are currently held short).
Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Verizon Communications.
Find out more about how you can short Verizon Communications stock.
Verizon Communications's environmental, social and governance track record
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Verizon Communications.
When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.
Verizon Communications's total ESG risk score
Total ESG risk: 20.87
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Verizon Communications's overall score of 20.87 (as at 08/01/2020) is pretty good – landing it in it in the 25th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Verizon Communications is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
Verizon Communications's environmental score
Environmental score: 3.75/100
Verizon Communications's environmental score of 3.75 puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Verizon Communications is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Verizon Communications's social score
Social score: 11.68/100
Verizon Communications's social score of 11.68 puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Verizon Communications is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
Verizon Communications's governance score
Governance score: 8.93/100
Verizon Communications's governance score puts it squarely in the 4th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Verizon Communications is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Verizon Communications's controversy score
Controversy score: 3/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Verizon Communications scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that Verizon Communications hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary
Verizon Communications Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2020-08-01.
| Total ESG score | 20.87 |
|---|---|
| Total ESG percentile | 25.36 |
| Environmental score | 3.75 |
| Environmental score percentile | 4 |
| Social score | 11.68 |
| Social score percentile | 4 |
| Governance score | 8.93 |
| Governance score percentile | 4 |
| Level of controversy | 3 |
Verizon Communications share dividends
Dividend payout ratio: 53.25% of net profits
Recently Verizon Communications has paid out, on average, around 53.25% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 4.26% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Verizon Communications shareholders could enjoy a 4.26% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Verizon Communications's case, that would currently equate to about $2.51 per share.
Verizon Communications's payout ratio would broadly be considered high, and as such this stock could appeal to those looking to generate an income. Bear in mind however that companies should normally also look to re-invest a decent amount of net profits to ensure future growth.
Verizon Communications's most recent dividend payout was on 2 November 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 8 October 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").
Have Verizon Communications's shares ever split?
Verizon Communications's shares were split on a 1000000:93 basis on 2 July 2010. So if you had owned 93 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 1000000 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Verizon Communications shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 100% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Verizon Communications shares which in turn could have impacted Verizon Communications's share price.
Verizon Communications share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, Verizon Communications's shares have ranged in value from as little as $48.84 up to $62.1499. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Verizon Communications's is 0.4342. This would suggest that Verizon Communications's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).
Verizon Communications overview
Verizon Communications Inc. offers communications, 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, laptop computers and netbooks, and other wireless-enabled connected devices, such as smart watches and other wearables. It also provides residential fixed connectivity solutions, including Internet, video, and voice services; and sells network access to mobile virtual network operators. As of December 31, 2019, it had approximately 95 million wireless retail connections, 6 million broadband connections, and 4 million Fios video connections. The company's Business segment provides network connectivity products, including private networking, private cloud connectivity, virtual and software defined networking, and Internet access services; and Internet protocol-based voice services, unified communications and collaboration tools, and customer contact center solutions. It also offers a suite of management and data security services; domestic and global voice and data solutions, including voice calling, messaging services, conferencing, contact center solutions, and private line and data access networks; customer premises equipment; installation, maintenance, and site services; and IoT products and services. This segment had 25 million wireless retail postpaid connections and 489 thousand broadband connections. The company has strategic partnership with HERE Technologies and Dignitas; and Emory Healthcare to develop and test 5G Ultra Wideband-enabled use cases. The company was formerly known as Bell Atlantic Corporation and changed its name to Verizon Communications Inc. in June 2000. Verizon Communications Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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