AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 0.6% Higher – Here’s What Happened

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s stock price traded up 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $26.25 and last traded at $26.24. 6,448,751 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 37,220,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Argus raised AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.33.

AT&T Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.23. The company has a market cap of $191.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in T. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of AT&T by 305.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,541,724 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,918,000 after buying an additional 1,161,152 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in AT&T by 3.1% during the third quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 22,785 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its holdings in AT&T by 4.3% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 13,394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company increased its stake in AT&T by 5.5% in the third quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 187,069 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,116,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 88.6% during the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 98,881 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 46,460 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AT&T

AT&T, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of telecommunications and technology services. It operates through the Communications and Latin America segments. The Communications segment offers wireless, wireline telecom, and broadband services to businesses and consumers located in the US and businesses globally.