AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 0.6% – Here’s Why

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) was up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $26.04 and last traded at $26.02. Approximately 10,068,070 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 36,840,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on T shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup increased their price objective on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.33.

AT&T Stock Up 0.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $187.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.28 and its 200-day moving average is $22.12.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. Equities analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at $14,700,000. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in AT&T by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 21,282,584 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $468,217,000 after acquiring an additional 104,700 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in AT&T by 41.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,947,913 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $168,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326,904 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp lifted its stake in AT&T by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 320,089 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 21,927 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 18.3% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 195,991 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 30,281 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.