AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 1% Higher – Should You Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shares were up 1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $25.93 and last traded at $25.88. Approximately 31,683,390 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 38,630,956 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of AT&T from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $28.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. New Street Research upgraded AT&T from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.33.

AT&T Stock Up 0.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $188.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2775 per share. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.50%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in AT&T in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted 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 buying an additional 841 shares during the period. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

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.