AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 1% Higher - Time to Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $22.36 and last traded at $22.25. 5,957,977 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 35,524,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on T. Tigress Financial boosted their price target 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. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AT&T to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lowered shares of AT&T from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.40.

AT&T Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $21.36 and its 200 day moving average is $19.25. The stock has a market cap of $161.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.60.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. AT&T had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The firm had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. AT&T's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. AT&T's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in AT&T by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91,578 shares during the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its stake in AT&T by 356.5% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC boosted its stake in AT&T by 107.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in AT&T during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its stake in 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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