Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is often considered a stable income play because it's one of the top telecom companies in the U.S. and pays a hefty forward dividend yield of 6.4%. But over the past five years, its stock actually declined more than 30%. Even after including reinvested dividends, it delivered a negative total return of 9%.

We recently compiled a list of the 12 Best Telecom Stocks To Invest In Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) stands against the other telecom stocks.

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. VZ inched 0.48% higher to $42.28 Friday, on what proved to be an all-around mixed trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index SPX remaining mostly unchanged at 6,