AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading Down 2.9% – Here’s What Happened

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s share price traded down 2.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $25.20 and last traded at $25.64. 16,151,260 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 36,652,208 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $28.50 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.24.

AT&T Stock Up 1.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $192.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.94.

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

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Company Profile

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.