AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 0.9% – Here’s Why

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) was up 0.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $26.39 and last traded at $26.40. Approximately 9,145,190 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 36,924,965 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on T shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays upped their price target on AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Argus upgraded AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.33.

AT&T Trading Up 1.9 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.59.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. Equities analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 26,161 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 41,716 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 59,394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthstream Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 12,383 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Company Profile

AT&T, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of telecommunications and technology services. It operates through the Communications and Latin America segments. The Communications segment offers wireless, wireline telecom, and broadband services to businesses and consumers located in the US and businesses globally.