AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $26.97 and last traded at $26.88. Approximately 9,913,996 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 38,464,844 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Argus upgraded AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.33.

AT&T Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a market cap of $193.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. 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 bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the third quarter worth $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other 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.