AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading Down 1.1% - Time to Sell?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $26.01 and last traded at $25.93. 9,225,497 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 40,274,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on T. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley raised AT&T from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, DZ Bank raised AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.74.

AT&T Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $194.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.82. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. On average, analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. AT&T's payout ratio is 74.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Buska Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Buska Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,391 shares of the technology company's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth approximately $305,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth approximately $520,000. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.