AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Up 0.1% - Time to Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $26.27 and last traded at $26.26. 6,320,011 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 37,010,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on T. Morgan Stanley raised AT&T from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank raised their price target on AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on AT&T in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.33.

AT&T Stock Up 1.9 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.28. 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 market cap of $191.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. 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 issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of T. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 169.2% in the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. 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.