Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)
57.91 0.00 (0.00%)
After hours: 7:11PM EDT
| Previous close | 57.24 |
| Open | 57.20 |
| Bid | 57.85 x 2900 |
| Ask | 57.86 x 2200 |
| Day's range | 57.18 - 58.14 |
| 52-week range | 48.84 - 62.22 |
| Volume | 11,441,336 |
| Avg. volume | 15,932,979 |
| Market cap | 239.634B |
| Beta (5Y monthly) | 0.42 |
| PE ratio (TTM) | 12.53 |
| EPS (TTM) | 4.62 |
| Earnings date | 21 Oct 2020 |
| Forward dividend & yield | 2.46 (4.30%) |
| Ex-dividend date | 09 Jul 2020 |
| 1y target est | 61.17 |
- Motley Fool
3 Stocks That Are Absurdly Cheap Right Now
Well-known names like Target (NYSE: TGT), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), and Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE: BEP) have a lot for investors to like, including some juicy dividends. The COVID-19 pandemic has been an opportunity in disguise for Target. You can see below that revenue growth has accelerated early in 2020 and that should continue as the year goes on.
- GlobeNewswire
Verizon enables distance learning for up to 150,000 South Carolina students
COLUMBIA, S.C., Aug. 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) has partnered with Verizon to enable distance learning, for up to 150,000 K-12 students through discounted Internet access for students who have no Internet connectivity at home. The South Carolina ORS’ disbursement of CARES Act funding for this distance learning initiative, part of South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s AccelerateSC plan, is designed to help enable students who don’t have broadband at home to continue their education inside or outside of the classroom through 4G LTE Internet service and devices. AccelerateSC is a coordinated economic revitalization plan involving small and large business owners, leaders in manufacturing, healthcare professionals, educators, and local government officials. AccelerateSC collaborated with state agencies to develop guidelines for the safe operation of businesses in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and to develop priorities for the responsible investment of CARES Act funding.“As AccelerateSC began its work, we immediately recognized that one of our most pressing needs was getting Internet access to those families and students who were most dramatically impacted by school closures,” said South Carolina Gov. McMaster. “This partnership with Verizon will result in a stronger education delivery system for students in rural areas and is a great example of what we can do when we have a common goal and a commitment to innovation and collaboration.” The Covid-19 pandemic has caused an immediate surge in distance learning and has drawn new focus to enabling reliable Internet access for all students. While some school districts were more prepared to shift from onsite to online classrooms, many others are still challenged with securing Internet connectivity, devices and related solutions for distance learning. “With the 2020-21 school year just around the corner, it’s critical that all students have access to a reliable Internet connection, devices and other solutions they need be able to continue learning this fall -- whether from school or home,” said Andrés Irlando, senior vice president and president Public Sector and Verizon Connect at Verizon. “Now up to 150,000 K-12 students across South Carolina will have access to the Internet through this program.” Visit the distance learning information page to learn more about Verizon’s education solutions.Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is celebrating its 20th year as one of the world’s leading providers of technology, communications, information and entertainment products and services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $131.9 billion in 2019. The company offers voice, data and video services and solutions on its award winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control. Media contact: Juli Burda juli.burda@verizon.comNajuma Thorpe najuma.thorpe@verizon.com @najuma
- Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Comes Up With Tinder for Mergers
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Call it Deal Tinder. Banker Bumble. Or, perhaps more on trend with the vowel-hating naming convention of startups, simply: Bnkr. That’s not the real name, but Wall Street is building a new dealmaking app for the future of mergers and acquisitions in a social-distanced world. After all, this weekend’s flurry of deal activity shows that not even the coronavirus can stifle M&A demand for long.As air travel remains taboo, and with working from home set to be the norm for corporate offices for the foreseeable future, bankers are looking for new technologies to help their clients find transactions remotely. The Covid-19 pandemic heralded the rise of Zoom Video Communications Inc. and other videoconferencing tools, which have already been used recently by Verizon Communications Inc. and Intel Corp. to negotiate acquisitions valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. Now, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is building a merger matchmaking app for its investment-banking clients to further aid the process, Bloomberg’s Ed Hammond reports. The app’s real name is Gemini, building off a technology that the company uses internally. (In case Goldman’s rivals are curious, “Bnkr” is still up for grabs.) The Gemini news comes on the heels of a busy deals weekend as the M&A market starts to show more signs of life. Microsoft Corp. confirmed that it’s in talks to buy the U.S. side of TikTok as the Chinese-owned social-media sensation comes under scrutiny by the Trump administration. (Tim Culpan writes that it could be “the deal of the decade.”) Germany’s Siemens Healthineers AG struck a $16.4 billion deal to acquire Varian Medical Systems Inc., a Palo Alto, California-based maker of cancer-radiation treatments, with the expectation that demand for medical procedures put off by Covid will return. Private equity firms Blackstone Group Inc. and Global Infrastructure Partners are also considering a joint bid for Kansas City Southern, a railroad operator that links Mexico and the U.S. Midwest, in what would amount to a Warren Buffett-esque bet on the U.S. economy.Gone may be the days of a handshake sealing a deal, and M&A volume globally is still down 47% this year at just $1.1 trillion. But the pandemic hasn’t altered the reasons for pursuing transactions. Interest rates remain low amid a global recession triggered by virus fears, and a lack of organic growth continues to point to consolidation across industries. As companies become more comfortable with remote work, they may embrace technology for dealmaking, too.“The bankers are road warriors, but I think they’re learning quickly that they can get a lot more done this way,” Derek Koecher, Verizon’s vice president of strategy and development, said in a June interview conducted over the BlueJeans videoconferencing software. The wireless carrier acquired BlueJeans for $400 million in April to add to its offerings for business customers.While Verizon and BlueJeans executives were able to start their negotiations in person in pre-Covid times, once the pandemic hit they were forced to become their own guinea pigs. “That time that you get with the management team — the dinners, the drop-bys, the ‘Hey, I need to come out and see you, let’s have breakfast’ – were completely gone,” Koecher said. “One thing you worry about is culture. Are you going to have the right cultural fit with people you didn’t spend a lot of face-to-face time with? We used the platform to get that management time and intimacy. It was an experiment, and it proved to be quite successful.” No travel delays, and meetings were easier to schedule. There’s also a benefit to being able to literally peer into the other person’s background on screen, a window into their life outside the formal conference-room setting, he said. Goldman says its app will show how a business stacks up against various revenue and profit metrics, as well as environmental, social and governance standards. (By the way, the Bloomberg terminal can do a lot of that, too. Bloomberg LP is the parent of Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Opinion.) That may help CEOs spot vulnerabilities and merger or spinoff opportunities before activist investors come knocking.(2) With some inspiration from social-media tools, dealmaking lives on in the Covid era. Maybe even the swipe — the cultural touchstone of millennial dating that’s led to plenty of marriages — could broker mergers next. (1) There has already been a substantial uptick in the adoption of poison-pill defenses this year.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tara Lachapelle is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of entertainment and telecommunications, as well as broader deals. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
