AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 0.5% - Still a Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) shares traded up 0.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $27.32 and last traded at $27.09. 14,891,513 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 36,606,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on AT&T from $28.50 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on AT&T from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Argus raised AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.24.

AT&T Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $194.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The company had revenue of $30.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.39 billion. Analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is 74.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of T. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,858,418,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in AT&T by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 96,779,385 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,203,667,000 after buying an additional 26,280,866 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,432,827 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,216,665,000 after buying an additional 12,881,578 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 78,148,354 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,779,438,000 after buying an additional 10,945,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 4,986.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,913,960 shares of the technology company's stock worth $225,741,000 after acquiring an additional 9,719,036 shares during the period. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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