Better networks help investors

Article Excerpt

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. $50 remains a buy. The company (New York symbol VZ; Income-Growth Dividend Portfolio, Utilities sector, Shares o/s: 4.1 billion; Market cap: $205.0 billion; Dividend yield: 4.9%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.verizon.com) raised the dividend for its investors by 2.1% with the November 2019 payment. The new annual rate of $2.46 offers you a high 4.9% yield. Verizon has now increased its dividend each year for the past 13 years. This leading telecom provider plans to spend between $17.5 billion and $18.5 billion on upgrades to its wireless and Internet networks in 2020. That’s up from its earlier range of $17 billion to $18 billion. The extra spending will help Verizon cope with rising data traffic, particularly as more people work from home during the COVID-19 outbreak. Improving the reliability of its service has other benefits for investors, including helping the company better retain and attract customers. customers…