AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 2.2% – Should You Buy?

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) rose 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $27.56 and last traded at $27.55. Approximately 10,449,619 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 34,285,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on T shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on AT&T from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. New Street Research raised AT&T from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.79.

AT&T Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average is $25.46 and its 200-day moving average is $23.43.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

About AT&T

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.