AT&T (NYSE:T) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of AT&T (NYSE:T) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AT&T from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on AT&T from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on AT&T from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded AT&T from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded AT&T from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $20.81.

AT&T Price Performance

AT&T stock opened at $16.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.68. AT&T has a one year low of $13.43 and a one year high of $18.16. The company has a market cap of $120.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.62.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $30.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.62 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AT&T will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. AT&T’s payout ratio is currently 59.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in shares of AT&T by 166.7% during the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 1,600 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 16,250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the period. Finally, Lipe & Dalton acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.