Stock Update (NYSE:VZ): Mayor Walsh announces partnership with Verizon to transform city’s technology infrastructure

[PR Newswire] – BOSTON, April 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced a new partnership with Verizon to make Boston one of the most technologically advanced cities in the country by replacing its copper-based infrastructure with a state-of-the-art fiber-optic network platform across the city. Through an investment of more than $300 million from Verizon over six years, this change will bring increased competition and choice for broadband and entertainment services in Boston, and support the ongoing efforts to spur innovation and economic opportunity in all neighborhoods. Construction of the fiber-optic network will be completed by neighborhood to concentrate resources and provide an expedited timeline. Read more on this. Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) , with a current value of $211.96B, opened this morning at $51.66. Looking at the equity, the company’s one day range is $51.61 to $52.19 with a one year range of $38.06 to $54.49. VZ shares are currently priced at 12.97x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 3.45x earnings multiple for the same period. And for passive income investors, the company pays shareholders $2.26 per share annually in dividends, yielding 4.33%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 26 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $1.06 per share, which would be $0.04 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.00 sequential decrease. Investors should also note that the full-year EPS estimate of $3.98 is a $0.01 setback when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $32.56 Billion. If reported, that would be a 1.81% increase over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Bernstein downgraded VZ from Outperform to Mkt Perform (Apr 7, 2016). Previously, Jefferies downgraded VZ from Buy to Hold. With the above information in mind, readers should note that the average price target is $51.78, which is 0.23% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:VZ) Similar Articles: Stock Update (NYSE:VZ): Verizon announces tender offers for 34 tranches of notes issued by Verizon and its subsidiaries Company Update: Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) – Hum by Verizon keeps you connected to loved ones with new technology Stock Update (NYSE:VZ): PrecisionHawk, Verizon, Harris and DigitalGlobe Jointly Demonstrate Technology for Safe Drone Operations