Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is the Rodney Dangerfield of telecommunications stocks: it doesn't get any respect.
The company's shares have risen less than 2 percent this, year underperforming other major telecom providers including AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S) and Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q).
Perhaps, investors are turned off by the company's FiOS upgrades, which as the company's better-than-expected first quarter results indicates, are starting to pay off. This progress doesn't appear to be reflected in the stock price, which barely budged following the earnings report.
Verizon Wireless added 1.7 million customers in the first quarter, beating AT&T, according to Bloomberg News. The company also had a lower churn rate than AT&T and added more fiber customers than its rival.
Even Wall Street thinks Verizon's strategy is better.
"AT&T is looking to keep everything. For the near term, AT&T is seeing the benefits," Standard & Poors analyst Todd Rosenbluth told the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) "A year or two out, we think that what Verizon is doing, while not cost effective, is a better approach towards fighting cable competition."
Meanwhile, Verizon's valuation is pretty attractive.
Its trading at a forward price-to-earnings ration of 14.7, in-line with the 14.6 multiple for AT&T and cheaper than the 24.6 ratio for Sprint and 27.8 for Qwest.
The discount seems out of whack with reality.
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