The Dividend Daily

Telecom giant Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) said Monday that its third quarter profit plunged almost 30% from last year, hurt by one-time items.

The New York-based company reported third quarter net income of $1.18 billion, or 41 cents per share, compared with $1.67 billion, or 59 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, adjusted profit was 60 cents per share.

On average, Wall Street analysts expected a slightly lower adjusted profit of 59 cents per share.

Revenue rose 10% from last year, however, to $27.3 billion, aided by the company’s acquisition of wireless carrier Alltel. Excluding that acquisition, revenue gained only 0.6%.

Verizon shares were mostly flat in premarket trading Monday.

The Bottom Line
We have been recommending shares of VZ since Oct.10, when the stock was trading at $25.93. The company has a 6.59% dividend yield, based on Friday’s closing stock price of $28.85.

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) is a “recommended” dividend stock, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.