AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Down 3.5% - Time to Sell?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $26.20 and last traded at $26.32. 18,523,659 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 40,601,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank upgraded AT&T from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley raised AT&T from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, New Street Research raised AT&T from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.74.

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AT&T Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.96. The company has a market cap of $184.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G 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 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%. Research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in T. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at about $330,000. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at about $467,000. Old North State Trust LLC grew its position in AT&T by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 22,344 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Buska Wealth Management LLC grew its position in AT&T by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Buska Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,391 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. 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.