AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading Down 1.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s stock price was down 1.5% during trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $25.00 to $24.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. AT&T traded as low as $22.08 and last traded at $22.16. Approximately 7,099,967 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 35,607,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.49.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on T. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Moffett Nathanson upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AT&T in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of AT&T by 53.5% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,593,032 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,047,000 after buying an additional 555,503 shares during the period. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AT&T by 17.3% during the third quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 37,351 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 5,513 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of AT&T by 1.9% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 71,192 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 1,294 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in shares of AT&T by 44.7% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 74,752 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,645,000 after buying an additional 23,098 shares during the period. Finally, Sageworth Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the third quarter worth $203,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.06. The company has a market capitalization of $158.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.60.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 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 5.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.79%.

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.