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Verizon Communications (VZ) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know

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In the latest trading session, Verizon Communications (VZ - Free Report) closed at $43.33, marking a -2.38% move from the previous day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.21%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.25%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.45%.

Coming into today, shares of the largest U.S. cellphone carrier had gained 2.85% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector gained 4.48%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.07%.

The upcoming earnings release of Verizon Communications will be of great interest to investors. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.2, showcasing a 0.84% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $34.05 billion, showing a 2.15% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.7 per share and a revenue of $138.17 billion, representing changes of +2.4% and +2.51%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Verizon Communications. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.09% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Verizon Communications is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

From a valuation perspective, Verizon Communications is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 9.43. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 20.28.

We can additionally observe that VZ currently boasts a PEG ratio of 3.42. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Wireless National stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 3.42 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Wireless National industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 97, finds itself in the top 40% echelons 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.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.


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