Daiwa Securities on Wednesday moved Verizon Communications to a Buy rating from Outperform and increased its price target to $58.00 from $48.00. The new target is described as closely aligned with InvestingPro's Fair Value assessment, and the firm noted the stock appears undervalued even as it trades near a 52-week high of $50.24.
The upgrade was grounded in Verizon's shift from losing to gaining market share, driven by progressively stronger postpaid phone net additions over 2024 and 2025. Daiwa pointed to improvements across several core metrics during that period, and cited recent stock performance as evidence of the progress - a year-to-date price return of 20.02% and a one-year return of 22.2%.
Income returns have also factored into Daiwa's view. Verizon's current dividend yield of 5.89% and a record of 21 consecutive years of dividend increases have helped compensate investors through the company's turnaround phase. Daiwa argued that, despite recent upside in the share price, there remains further upside potential.
The analyst highlighted Verizon's comparatively low valuation versus T-Mobile and AT&T, its market and network positioning, and a differentiated dividend profile as reasons the stock offers an attractive risk-reward profile in the telecommunications sector. On a valuation basis, Verizon trades at roughly 6.4 times enterprise value to forward EBITDA, a level Daiwa said is approximately in line with the company's five-year average.
That bullish stance stands in contrast to the prevailing view on Wall Street. The majority of analysts continue to carry Hold, Neutral, or Sell ratings on the name, reflected in a current analyst consensus recommendation figure of 2.32.
Several other brokerage firms have adjusted targets in the wake of Verizon's strong fourth-quarter results:
- TD Cowen raised its price target to $54, calling out upside in phone subscriber additions but noting that comes with a trade-off in EBITDA.
- Bernstein SocGen Group increased its target to $48 after reporting more than 600,000 postpaid phone net additions, a 20% year-over-year gain that exceeded expectations by 40%.
- Scotiabank lifted its target to $50.25 and pointed to Verizon's new strategy aimed at reducing churn, with a $3 billion budget earmarked for that initiative in 2026.
- KeyBanc Capital Markets maintained a Sector Weight rating, describing the outlook as mixed while acknowledging Verizon's cost-cutting measures and new fiber targets.
Separately, Verizon is reportedly evaluating candidates to replace Sowmyanarayan Sampath as head of its consumer division. The company has not yet conducted formal interviews, indicating the process remains in early stages.
Those analyst moves and internal adjustments underscore ongoing strategic activity as Verizon seeks to strengthen its market position. InvestingPro data referenced by Daiwa also indicates Verizon is among more than 1,400 U.S. equities covered in comprehensive Pro Research Reports that turn complex data into actionable intelligence.
Overall, Daiwa's upgrade reflects a view that improved subscriber momentum, a strong dividend yield and a relatively low valuation combine to make Verizon an attractive telecom sector opportunity, even as other analysts weigh trade-offs in EBITDA, mixed near-term outlooks and leadership changes within the consumer business.