AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 1% – Time to Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) rose 1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $24.82 and last traded at $24.79. Approximately 6,895,538 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 37,161,301 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer began coverage on AT&T in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.21.

AT&T Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.94. The stock has a market cap of $182.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the third quarter worth $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its stake in AT&T by 169.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.