AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Up 1.9% - Should You Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $28.15 and last traded at $28.19. 10,216,090 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 34,260,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on T shares. DZ Bank raised AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Oppenheimer started coverage on AT&T in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Argus upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AT&T from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, New Street Research upgraded shares of AT&T from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.00.

AT&T Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $25.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.59. The company has a market cap of $204.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

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AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is 74.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tradition Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the third quarter worth approximately $270,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T during the 3rd quarter valued at $382,000. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its position in AT&T by 141.8% in the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 31,038 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 105,338 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in AT&T by 1,855.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 92,810 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,042,000 after purchasing an additional 88,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concentric Capital Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the third quarter worth $1,978,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.