AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading Down 3.5% – Should You Sell?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shares traded down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $26.20 and last traded at $26.32. 18,523,659 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 40,601,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on T shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. New Street Research upgraded shares of AT&T from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.74.

AT&T Stock Down 4.6 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.90. 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 capitalization of $186.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted 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 net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its position in AT&T by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 24,161 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Buska Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Buska Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in AT&T by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 26,161 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 period. Finally, BNP Paribas increased its position 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 buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. 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.