AT&T Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:T)

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 79,935 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 30% compared to the average daily volume of 61,363 call options.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of T stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $22.98. The company had a trading volume of 22,342,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,342,730. AT&T has a 12-month low of $15.94 and a 12-month high of $23.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $164.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.96 and a 200-day moving average of $19.86.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $30.50 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 13.97%. AT&T’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AT&T will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.24%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 227.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91,578 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the third quarter worth $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 356.5% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its holdings in AT&T by 169.2% in the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 1,338 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC grew 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

T has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Scotiabank lowered shares of AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on AT&T from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on AT&T from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.40.

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.