AT&T (NYSE:T) Sets New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $24.30 and last traded at $24.01, with a volume of 12623998 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.72.

The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 7.42%.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.66%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

T has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded AT&T from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $22.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated 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. Argus upgraded AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its position in AT&T by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 24,304 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AT&T by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 16,905 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Socha Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.5% during the third quarter. Socha Financial Group LLC now owns 18,847 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in AT&T by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,468 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Savings Bank lifted its position in AT&T by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 21,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Trading Up 4.9 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $171.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.59.

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.