AT&T (NYSE:T) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The technology company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.39 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%.

AT&T Price Performance

T stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.16. The company had a trading volume of 12,343,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,473,938. 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 has a 1 year low of $16.38 and a 1 year high of $29.03. The company has a market capitalization of $194.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.22.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in AT&T stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Free Report) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,579 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,188 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in AT&T were worth $1,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

T has been the subject of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded AT&T from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $28.50 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.24.

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.

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