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

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In the latest trading session, Verizon Communications (VZ - Free Report) closed at $56.21, marking a +0.34% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 2.48%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 2.83%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 3.04%.

Coming into today, shares of the largest U.S. cellphone carrier had lost 3.56% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 7.27%, while the S&P 500 lost 8.82%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from VZ as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 29, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.10, up 27.91% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $34.31 billion, up 1.05% from the prior-year quarter.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for VZ. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.17% higher within the past month. VZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note VZ's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 11.83. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 22.24.

It is also worth noting that VZ currently has a PEG ratio of 2.66. 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 industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.98 as of yesterday's close.

The Wireless National industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 32, putting it in the top 13% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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