AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 1.2% Higher - Should You Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $27.59 and last traded at $27.52. Approximately 6,254,823 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 36,734,856 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on T. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. DZ Bank upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AT&T from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $28.50 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AT&T has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.24.

AT&T Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $194.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.84 and a 200 day moving average of $24.14.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid 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 payout ratio is 74.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Next Level Private LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 0.3% in the first quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 113,379 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,206,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 24,161 shares of the technology company's stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its stake in AT&T by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 4,617 shares of the technology company's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 4.1% in the first quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,114 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Finally, Charter Oak Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AT&T by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC now owns 15,246 shares of the technology company's stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.