This dividend looks safe

Article Excerpt

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. $34 is still your #1 Income Buy for 2023. The telecom provider (New York symbol VZ; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector, Shares outstanding: 4.2 billion; Market cap: $142.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 7.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.verizon.com) is the second-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. after AT&T (New York symbol T), with 143.6 million subscribers (consumers and businesses) as of September 30, 2023. It also sells traditional telephone lines, high-speed Internet and TV services. In the third quarter of 2023, Verizon added 100,000 wireless phone subscribers under long-term contracts (net of cancellations). However, due to lower sales of new phones, revenue fell 2.6%, to $33.34 billion from $34.24 billion a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, per-share earnings fell 7.6%, to $1.22 from $1.32 on higher interest and depreciation charges. With the November 2023 payment, Verizon will raise your quarterly dividend by 1.9%, to $0.665 a share from $0.6525. The new annual rate of $2.66 a share yields a very high 7.8%. Despite…