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

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Verizon Communications (VZ - Free Report) closed at $54.29 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.87% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.37% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.08%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.91%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the largest U.S. cellphone carrier had gained 2.13% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.44% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.96% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from VZ as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be October 18, 2018. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.18, up 20.41% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $32.43 billion, up 2.25% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.66 per share and revenue of $130.50 billion. These totals would mark changes of +24.6% and +3.54%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for VZ should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.02% higher. VZ currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, VZ is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 11.54. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 38.26, which means VZ is trading at a discount to the group.

Meanwhile, VZ's PEG ratio is currently 1.95. 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 2.25 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 45, which puts it in the top 18% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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