News about VZ

The article highlights four high-yield dividend payers, Verizon (VZ), Realty Income (O), Altria Group (MO) and PepsiCo (PEP), whose profits or cash flow exceed their dividends. Verizon yields 6.18%, with trailing EPS of $3.84 against an annual dividend of $2.795 per share, and first-half free cash flow of $10.2B versus $5.9B in dividends paid, though its quarterly reported earnings fell 22% year over year. Realty Income has declared 673 consecutive monthly dividends, yields 5.84%, and raised its 2026 AFFO guidance to $4.44–$4.45 per share against an annualized forward dividend of $3.258. Altria shares rose 35% year to date, as a roughly 7% retail price increase on Marlboro offset a roughly 5% decline in industry volume.

Verizon CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares on Tuesday, October 20th, at an average price of $44.48, for a total of $48,928. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, and he held 99,966 shares afterwards, a 1.09% reduction in his stake. The article notes he has sold 1,100 shares several times on Tuesdays since August 18th. VZ shares fell 2.1% to $43.62 in Wednesday trading. The company's latest quarterly results showed EPS of $1.30, beating the $1.27 consensus, while revenue of $34.25 billion fell short of the $35.16 billion estimate.

The article names three stocks the author considers undervalued: Viking Therapeutics (VKTX), Verizon (VZ), and Royal Caribbean (RCL). Viking closed below $27, after hitting more than $40 less than a month earlier, and its GLP-1 drug VK2735 showed 16% to 19% weight loss over 21 weeks in trials; however, it has no approved drug yet, is burning cash, and has a market cap of about $3 billion. Verizon yields 6.6% with a payout ratio of around 70%, and the author believes fears that SpaceX's Starlink will disrupt telecom are overblown. Royal Caribbean said it will acquire a 50% stake in Sandals and Beaches Resorts for $3 billion; its stock briefly hit a 52-week low of about $222 before recovering, and the company raised guidance to 9% revenue growth and 14% adjusted earnings growth. The author notes Verizon trades at nine times and Royal Caribbean at 11 times estimated future profits.