Verizon CommunicationsVZCOMMENTAug 26, 2016Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Sep 11, 2026. Market Open.
A changed company. Older business model was volume-based, now has a bit more of an entrepreneurial spirit and is a bit more growthy. Cutting back on getting the customer at any price to a higher-quality customer. New focus is turning up in cashflow. Returning a lot of cash to investors, lots of buybacks.
Defensive play. Yield is 5.67%.
Telecommunication and utility companies are not prime examples of dividend growers. The projected three-year dividend growth of this is about 3%, pretty low relative to other companies. The dividend is attractive at 4.3%. A good company but you have to be careful of interest rates moving higher and the prospects of them moving higher. You could consider Telus (T-T) which has publicly said they are going to increase their dividend by almost double digit growth over the next several years.