AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 1.9% Higher – What’s Next?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s stock price was up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $28.15 and last traded at $28.19. Approximately 10,216,090 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 34,260,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on T. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays upped their price target on AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on AT&T in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.79.

AT&T Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $202.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS 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 8.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

About AT&T

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.