AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading Down 1% – Here’s What Happened

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shares were down 1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $21.05 and last traded at $21.44. Approximately 12,088,910 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 35,393,918 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on T shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Daiwa America raised AT&T to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised AT&T to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.93.

AT&T Stock Up 4.6 %

The company has a market cap of $161.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. The company had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 14.16% and a net margin of 10.41%. AT&T’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 63.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 227.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91,578 shares during the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 356.5% during the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 107.5% during the second quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 176.6% during the second quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 1,867 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc provides telecommunications and technology services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Communications and Latin America. The Communications segment offers wireless voice and data communications services; and sells handsets, wireless data cards, wireless computing devices, carrying cases/protective covers, and wireless chargers through its own company-owned stores, agents, and third-party retail stores.