AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading Up 0.6% – Here’s Why

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s share price was up 0.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $26.25 and last traded at $26.24. Approximately 6,448,751 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 37,220,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on T. 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 report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. DZ Bank upgraded AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AT&T has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.33.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $188.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.17.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. AT&T’s payout ratio is 74.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of T. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at about $14,700,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in AT&T by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 21,282,584 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $468,217,000 after acquiring an additional 104,700 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in AT&T by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,947,913 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $168,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326,904 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 320,089 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 21,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 18.3% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 195,991 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,312,000 after acquiring an additional 30,281 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.