Topic: Growth Stocks

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. $38 – New York symbol VZ

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. $38 (New York symbol VZ, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 2.8 billion; Market cap: $106.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 5.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.verizon.com) is the largest provider of wireless
services in the U.S., with 108.7 million subscribers. Wireless accounts for 63% of its revenue. It also has 24.1 million phone and Internet customers.

In 2011, Verizon added 6.3 million new wireless subscribers (net of deactivations) and 278,000 new high-speed Internet customers. These gains offset the loss of 1.9 million phone customers.

Verizon’s overall revenue rose 4.0% in 2011, to $110.9 billion from $106.6 billion in 2010. Earnings fell 5.7%, to $2.4 billion, or $0.85 a share, from $2.5 billion, or $0.90 a share. However, if you exclude unusual items, such as contributions from businesses that Verizon sold and costs to repair storm damage, earnings per share would have risen 3.4%, to $2.15 from $2.08.

The stock trades at 15.3 times the $2.49 a share that Verizon should earn in 2012. That’s a higher p/e than AT&T, but it’s still reasonable in light of Verizon’s strong prospects. The $2.00 dividend yields 5.3%.

Verizon is a buy.

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