AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AT&T (NYSE:T) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on T. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday, April 7th. DZ Bank raised 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. Argus raised shares of AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $29.00 to $29.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.62.

AT&T Price Performance

AT&T stock opened at $26.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.35. AT&T has a 12 month low of $16.73 and a 12 month high of $29.03. The company has a market capitalization of $192.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The business had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.39 billion. Analysts expect that AT&T will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.10%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.