AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Up 1% - Here's Why

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.14 and last traded at $22.14. 3,073,581 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 35,578,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on T shares. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AT&T from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.40.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm's fifty day moving average is $21.56 and its 200-day moving average is $19.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59.

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

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.03%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.24%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in T. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1,379.0% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,159,133 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $270,581,000 after acquiring an additional 13,201,774 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AT&T by 43.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,853,624 shares of the technology company's stock worth $414,563,000 after buying an additional 6,602,586 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 81,076,641 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,549,375,000 after purchasing an additional 5,592,123 shares in the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,988,396 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $477,528,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in AT&T in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $78,570,000. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.