Stock Update: Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) – As S&P 500 Turns Positive, Top Sectors Are Also Highest Yielding

[at Barrons.com] – The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index turned positive for the first time in 2016 on Thursday. Telecommunications Services is the top sector for price appreciation and dividends this year. Verizon (VZ) and AT& T (T) are included in that sector and make for good examples. Read more on this. Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) , with a current market cap of $218.43B, opened at $53.28. Today’s price range has been between $53.19 and $53.81 per share and has traded between $38.06 and $53.81 over the past 12 months. Verizon (VZ) shares are currently priced at 13.34x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively inexpensive compared to the industry’s 15.48x earnings multiple for the same period. The company pays shareholders $2.26 per share annually in dividends, yielding 4.30%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 23 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $1.06 per share, which would be $0.04 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.00 sequential decrease. The full-year EPS estimate is $3.99 which would be a $0.00 worse than last year’s full-year earnings. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $32.81 Billion. If realized, that would be a 2.60% increase over the year-ago quarter. Recently, Deutsche Bank Initiated VZ at Hold (Feb 24, 2016). Previously, DA Davidson Initiated VZ at to Neutral. When considering if perhaps the stock is under or overvalued, the average price target is $50.52, which is 5.18% below where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:VZ) Similar Articles: Stock Update: Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) – Verizon Exploring Asset-Backed Financing to Get Upfront Cash Stock Update: Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) – How Could Verizon Benefit from XO Communications Transaction? Market Update: Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) – Verizon Communications (VZ) Stock Rises in Pre-Market Trading on New Network Offer