AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading Up 1% - Still a Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $25.93 and last traded at $25.88. 31,683,390 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 38,630,956 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on T shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded AT&T from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. BNP Paribas raised AT&T from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $28.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.33.

AT&T Stock Up 1.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $191.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.59. 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's 50 day moving average price is $23.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.23.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in AT&T by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 26,161 shares of the technology company's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 41,716 shares of the technology company's stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in AT&T by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 59,394 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,352,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthstream Advisors Inc. boosted its position in AT&T by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 12,383 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.