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Verizon Communications (VZ) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Verizon Communications (VZ - Free Report) closed at $58.14 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.14% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.13%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.24%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.15%.

Heading into today, shares of the largest U.S. cellphone carrier had lost 2.92% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 4.54% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.59% in that time.

VZ will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 26, 2021. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.16, up 2.65% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $34.41 billion, down 1.06% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.85 per share and revenue of $127.99 billion. These totals would mark changes of +0.83% and -2.94%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for VZ. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.02% lower. VZ is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, VZ is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 12.12. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.53.

It is also worth noting that VZ currently has a PEG ratio of 3.49. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Wireless National was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.88 at yesterday's closing price.

The Wireless National industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 96, which puts it in the top 38% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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