Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on AT&T (NYSE:T)

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 112,599 call options on the company. This is an increase of 59% compared to the average volume of 70,955 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in AT&T by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 91,578 shares in the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its stake in AT&T by 356.5% during the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its holdings in AT&T by 107.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its holdings in AT&T by 176.6% in the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 1,867 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Stock Performance

Shares of T opened at $21.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.15 and a 200-day moving average of $19.08. The company has a market cap of $156.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.66. AT&T has a one year low of $14.74 and a one year high of $22.58.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 14.16% and a net margin of 10.41%. AT&T’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AT&T will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on T. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on AT&T in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.40.

AT&T Company Profile

AT&T Inc provides telecommunications and technology services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Communications and Latin America. The Communications segment offers wireless voice and data communications services; and sells handsets, wireless data cards, wireless computing devices, carrying cases/protective covers, and wireless chargers through its own company-owned stores, agents, and third-party retail stores.