AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 0.6% Higher – What’s Next?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shares shot up 0.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $26.25 and last traded at $26.24. 6,448,751 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 37,220,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on T. Morgan Stanley raised AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $19.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. New Street Research raised shares of AT&T from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of 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 Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.33.

AT&T Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $188.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.17. 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, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 169.2% in the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

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.