AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 0.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) rose 0.6% during trading on Tuesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $27.00 to $32.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. AT&T traded as high as $28.49 and last traded at $28.45. Approximately 13,478,048 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 41,593,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.28.

Several other brokerages have also commented on T. 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. New Street Research raised shares of AT&T from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.21.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.67. 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 company has a market capitalization of $205.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

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.