Verizon Boosts Shareholders’ Return With Dividend Hike

Verizon Communications enhanced shareholders’ returns by announcing a 2% increase in its quarterly dividend payout. The company’s board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.6275 per share, $0.0125 higher than the previous quarter.

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The latest announcement marks the 14th consecutive year of dividend hikes for Verizon Communications (VZ). The newly announced dividend will be payable on November 2 to Verizon shareholders of record at the close of business on October 9, 2020.

Based on the stock’s closing price as of September 4, the recently declared dividend reflects an annualized dividend yield of 4.1%. The telecom and wireless services provider has returned approximately $5.1 billion to shareholders through dividend payments in the first half of 2020. (See VZ stock analysis on TipRanks).

Tigress Financial Partners analyst Ivan Feinseth sees Verizon as an “attractive long-term investment opportunity.” Feinseth stated on August 11 that he “view opportunities in 5G and online content delivery and significant dividend yield as the potential to create an attractive long-term investment opportunity.” However, based on the company’s current valuation, he maintained a Hold rating on the stock.

Currently, the Street has a cautiously optimistic outlook on the stock. The Moderate Buy analyst consensus is based on 5 Buys and 6 Holds. The average analyst price target of $62.30 implies an upside potential of 3% to current levels. Shares are down by 1.5% year-to-date.