AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading Up 0.4% - Still a Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) rose 0.4% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $27.49 and last traded at $27.12. Approximately 24,758,386 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 36,672,389 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. DZ Bank upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AT&T from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $28.50 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given 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 $27.24.

AT&T Trading Up 0.4 %

The company's fifty day moving average is $26.84 and its 200-day moving average is $24.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 13.97%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in AT&T in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

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.