AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 0.6% - Still a Buy?

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) shot up 0.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $22.40 and last traded at $22.39. 7,161,780 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 35,362,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on T. Daiwa America raised shares of AT&T to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AT&T to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Scotiabank cut AT&T from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.40.

AT&T Trading Up 1.9 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.67. The company has a market cap of $162.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 7.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.24%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of T. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in AT&T by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 91,578 shares during the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its position in AT&T by 356.5% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its position in AT&T by 169.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC lifted its position in AT&T by 107.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in AT&T in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

About AT&T

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.

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