AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 0.8% Higher

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s stock price was up 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $20.67 and last traded at $20.59. 10,696,218 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 35,430,363 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

T has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank cut AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AT&T from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lifted their target price on AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.06.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.27 and a 200-day moving average of $17.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 59.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.1% in the second quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 25,313 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its position in AT&T by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 23,650 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 2.2% in the second quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC now owns 24,138 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of AT&T by 3.2% during the second quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 17,177 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 0.6% during the second quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 92,450 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,767,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AT&T

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.