AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s share price rose 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $27.16 and last traded at $26.90. Approximately 10,613,190 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 38,055,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

T has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $28.50 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.33.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $23.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $189.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. Equities analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. AT&T’s payout ratio is presently 74.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in T. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 26,161 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its position in AT&T by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas raised its stake in AT&T by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 41,716 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in AT&T by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 59,394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthstream Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 12,383 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

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.