AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Down 1.1% - Should You Sell?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) shares traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $26.01 and last traded at $25.93. 9,225,497 shares changed hands during 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

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on T shares. Morgan Stanley raised AT&T from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Argus raised AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.50 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.74.

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AT&T Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $194.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.82.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of T. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

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.