AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 0.1% Higher - Should You Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) shares were up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $21.74 and last traded at $21.73. Approximately 3,396,108 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 35,470,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on T shares. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AT&T to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Redburn Atlantic raised AT&T to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised AT&T to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.69.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.93. The firm has a market cap of $155.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.60.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.57. The business had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.11%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of T. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of AT&T by 356.5% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 107.5% in the second quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its stake in shares of AT&T by 176.6% during the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 1,867 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AT&T Company Profile

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.