AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.76.

A number of analysts have commented on T shares. Hsbc Global Res raised AT&T to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of AT&T from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 79,835 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,818,000 after buying an additional 3,549 shares in the last quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AT&T by 352.2% in the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,870 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 3,793 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in AT&T by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 190,792 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of AT&T by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 22,573 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of AT&T by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,600,080 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,202,000 after purchasing an additional 7,048 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Down 2.2 %

AT&T stock opened at $21.69 on Wednesday. AT&T has a 12-month low of $15.94 and a 12-month high of $24.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.81 and its 200 day moving average is $21.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $155.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. AT&T had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The firm had revenue of $30.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AT&T will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.12%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.24%.

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.