Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Shares Up 1.2% – Should You Buy?

Posted by Geri Gentry on Sep 11th, 2026

Verizon Communications logo Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report)’s stock price rose 1.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $50.82 and last traded at $50.5770. Approximately 15,474,185 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 27,428,912 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.97.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s $20 billion Frontier acquisition is helping accelerate service-revenue growth, with growth expected to exceed 3% year over year in the second half of 2026. Broadband additions, mobile-and-fiber convergence, and lower customer churn support the company’s growth outlook. Verizon Firing On All Cylinders – Focus On Service Convergence
Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s iPhone 18 Pro launch offers include annual upgrades, trade-in savings of up to $1,200, waived activation and upgrade fees, and incentives for new switchers. The promotions could support subscriber additions, device upgrades, and customer retention. Switch to Verizon and get the new iPhone 18 Pro now
Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Verizon’s 5G, broadband, and fiber expansion, relatively low valuation, and approximately 5%–6% dividend yield as reasons for favoring VZ over higher-growth but more speculative satellite-related investments. Verizon vs. SpaceX: Which Stock Has Better Growth Prospects?
Neutral Sentiment: Verizon kept its quarterly dividend at $0.7075 per share, or $2.83 annualized. The roughly 5.7% yield remains attractive for income investors, although the unchanged payout provides no new dividend-growth catalyst. Verizon Communications Keeps Quarterly Dividend at $0.7075
Neutral Sentiment: Verizon’s agreement to purchase more than 80 million miles of Corning optical fiber through 2032 supports broadband expansion and AI data-center connectivity, but the associated investment may limit near-term financial benefits. Corning Just Locked In a Massive Verizon Fiber Deal
Negative Sentiment: Verizon is removing its price-lock guarantee from myPlan, a move that could increase pricing flexibility but risks customer dissatisfaction in a competitive wireless market. Verizon scales back a price-lock perk
Negative Sentiment: CEO Kyle Malady sold $54,978 of VZ stock under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The relatively small sale is not a major fundamental signal, but repeated insider selling can create modest investor caution. Verizon Communications CEO Sells Stock

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.97.

View Our Latest Stock Report on VZ

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $46.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.51. The firm has a market cap of $210.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.98, for a total transaction of $54,978.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,566 shares in the company, valued at $5,326,168.68. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,400 shares of company stock worth $219,142. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VZ. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4,016.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 271,369,762 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,489,796,000 after buying an additional 264,776,704 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $3,117,471,000 after acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,286,423,000 after acquiring an additional 7,509,055 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and related technology services. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, 5G connectivity, fixed wireless access, fiber-optic internet through Verizon Fios, home services, and connected-device solutions.

Through Verizon Business, the company serves enterprises, government agencies, and other organizations with communications networks, managed connectivity, cybersecurity, cloud and edge-computing services, unified communications, and Internet of Things solutions.