Market Update (NYSE:VZ): AT&T To See Higher Profit with Subsidy Cut, Says BTIG; Leasing Next?

[at Barrons.com] – BTIG’s Walter Piecyk this morning raises his earnings estimates for AT&T (T) in response to a report yesterday from Chris Velazco of Engaget stating that the carrier is planning to end the traditional two-year phone contract and move all its consumer customers to month-by-month payments, citing internal AT&T documents. The stock has beaten the broader market this year with a mere 2.8% gain, and also beat the shares of both Sprint and Verizon Communications (VZ). Read more on this. Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) , with a current value of $188.39B, opened this morning at $46.50. Looking at the stock, its one day range is $46.26 to $46.65 and has traded between $38.06 and $50.86 over the past 12 months. VZ shares are currently priced at 11.78x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively inexpensive compared to the industry’s 23.57x forward p/e ratio. The company pays shareholders $2.26 per share in dividend income per year, for a current yield of 4.88%. According to a consensus of 24 analysts, the earnings estimate of $0.88 per share would be $0.17 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.00 sequential decrease. In looking at the bigger picture, the full-year EPS estimate of $3.97 would be a $0.62 better when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $34.12 Billion. If reported, that would be a 2.80% increase over the year-ago quarter. Recently, Buckingham Research Initiated VZ at Neutral (Jul 2, 2015). Previously, JP Morgan downgraded VZ from Overweight to Neutral. With the above information in mind, readers should note that the average price target is $50.12, which is 7.78% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:VZ) Similar Articles: Market Update: Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) – Verizon Communications (VZ) Stock Rises in Pre-Market Trading on New Network Offer Market Update (NYSE:VZ): Where AOL Stands in the Digital Advertising Market Market Update (NYSE:VZ): Verizon (VZ) Stock Closes Down, Earnings May Flatline in 2016