BUZZ-PREVIEW: Verizon revenue, EPS seen edging up ahead of Q4 results

Verizon Communications VZ.N shares up 0.5% to $39.16 with Q4 report slated before market open on Fri

The communications services co is expected to report Q4 EPS of $1.10 on revenue of $35.32 bln, per LSEG data, vs yr-ago results of $1.08 and $35.13 bln in revenue

VZ has met or beat EPS estimate in eight straight qtrs; on revenue side, VZ has met or beaten expectations in three of last eight qtrs

Of the 26 analysts that cover VZ, the breakdown of recommendations is 10 "strong buy" or "buy," 14 "hold" and 2 "sell" or "strong sell" ratings

Median price target of $47 is unchanged from a month ago

VZ shares down ~2% YTD vs 4.6% gain in Dow Industrials .DJI and 4.5% advance in S&P 500 communication services .SPLRCL sector

VZ options imply a 3.6% swing for the shares, in either direction, on Fri, according to options analytics service ORATS; that's lower than the stock's 4.3% 12-qtr avg post-earnings move