AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 1.9% - Time to Buy?

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) were up 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $28.15 and last traded at $28.19. Approximately 10,216,090 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 34,260,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on T. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AT&T from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Argus upgraded shares of AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.79.

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AT&T Stock Down 0.0 %

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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $25.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.53. The firm has a market cap of $202.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56.

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, 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS 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 dividend yield of 3.94%. AT&T's payout ratio is presently 74.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at $14,700,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in AT&T by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,947,913 shares of the technology company's stock worth $168,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326,904 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 320,089 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,288,000 after buying an additional 21,927 shares in the last quarter. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at $691,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. boosted its stake in AT&T by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 37,961 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $864,000 after buying an additional 15,680 shares during the period. 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.