AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading Up 0.8% – Here’s What Happened

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) was up 0.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $22.35 and last traded at $22.33. Approximately 4,763,267 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 35,448,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on T shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on AT&T from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank cut AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded AT&T to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.40.

AT&T Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $159.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.79 and its 200 day moving average is $19.63.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 13.97%. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.01%. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 90.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $23,888,000. Talbot Financial LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,438,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of AT&T by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,641,856 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,486,000 after purchasing an additional 288,093 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC grew its position in shares of AT&T by 642.2% during the 2nd quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 104,309 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,997,000 after buying an additional 90,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of AT&T by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 396,958 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,928,000 after buying an additional 26,706 shares during the last quarter. 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.