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

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) rose 0.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $27.16 and last traded at $26.90. Approximately 10,613,190 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 38,055,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on T shares. Citigroup upped their price target on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.33.

AT&T Trading Down 1.5 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.38. 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 stock has a market cap of $189.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.