Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, September 8, 2023

Article Excerpt

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC., $33.45, New York symbol VZ, is your #1 Income Buy for 2023. The telecom provider is the second-largest wireless carrier in the U.S. after AT&T (New York symbol T), with 143.2 million subscribers (consumers and businesses) as of June 30, 2023. It also sells traditional telephone lines, high-speed Internet and TV services. 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 high 8.0%. With this increase, the company has now raised its dividend each year for the past 17 years. The stock has dropped 17% since the start of 2023, mainly due to concerns over higher competition and costs to remove its old telephone lines with lead sheathing. However, it’s likely the company will spread out the costs over many years, which reduces the possibility that it will have to cut the dividend. Based on the new rate, Verizon’s annual dividend…