AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Down 2.7% - Should You Sell?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) shares traded down 2.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $21.34 and last traded at $21.34. 6,748,589 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 35,640,504 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

T has been the subject of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of AT&T to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AT&T to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson increased their price objective on AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.38.

AT&T Trading Down 3.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $152.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.64 and a 200 day moving average of $18.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.70.

AT&T (NYSE:T - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The company had revenue of $29.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. AT&T's payout ratio is currently 59.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in T. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 624,994,998 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,999,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,539 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in AT&T by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 81,076,641 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,549,375,000 after buying an additional 5,592,123 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in AT&T by 2.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 60,109,127 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,148,689,000 after buying an additional 1,569,374 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in AT&T by 2.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,558,884 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $985,307,000 after buying an additional 1,007,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.1% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 30,092,610 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $575,070,000 after acquiring an additional 315,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company's stock.

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.