AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 0.7% Higher

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s stock price rose 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.64 and last traded at $21.64. Approximately 10,120,995 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 35,826,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on T shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Scotiabank cut AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.06.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.36 and its 200-day moving average is $18.05. The company has a market cap of $155.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. The firm had revenue of $29.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.13%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,554,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in AT&T by 250.3% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 67,303 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after acquiring an additional 48,091 shares during the last quarter. Skopos Labs Inc. acquired a new position in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth about $839,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of AT&T by 4.3% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,037,529 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,827,000 after purchasing an additional 43,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,074,000. 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.