AT&T Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:T)

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 679,118 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,005% compared to the typical volume of 61,437 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 91,578 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its stake in AT&T by 169.2% in the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Performance

NYSE:T remained flat at $22.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 35,492,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,641,885. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. AT&T has a 1 year low of $15.94 and a 1 year high of $24.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.17.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 7.42%. The firm had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AT&T will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is 90.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

T has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Redburn Atlantic raised AT&T to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of AT&T in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.76.

AT&T Company Profile

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.