5 Best Stocks To Buy For Income

2. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 62

Dividend Yield as of February 14: 6.47%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate. A corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the company offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide.

Cowen analyst Gregory Williams lowered the price target on Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VZ) to $49 from $55 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. According to Williams, the company posted mixed Q4 results, thus muting initial 2023 guidance as price hikes, good FWA, and decent Business Wireless are not enough to offset promotion amortization cost pressures.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) holds a 16-year track record of consistent dividend growth, one of the longest in the US telecom industry. It currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.6525 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.47%, as of February 14.

According to Insider Monkey’s data, 62 hedge funds were bullish on Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) at the end of Q3 2022, compared to 58 funds in the prior quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group is a significant position holder in the company, with 5.2 million shares worth $200.4 million.

Here is what Mawer Investment Management has to say about Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in its Q3 2022 investor letter:

“There are a few other segments of our portfolios that displayed weakness in the quarter. Cable and telecommunication companies have been an area that has lagged the broader market as their worlds are increasingly colliding. Companies such as Verizon (NYSE:VZ) have been impacted as wireless operators are spending heavily to attract internet subscribers with fixed wired access and the cable companies are trying to build wireless businesses.”

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