AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Gap Up to $18.21

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.21, but opened at $18.92. AT&T shares last traded at $18.94, with a volume of 9,156,048 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

T has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on AT&T from $22.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on AT&T in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.85.

AT&T Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $137.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.21 and a 200 day moving average of $17.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. AT&T had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $30.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.79%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of T. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AT&T by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 624,994,998 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,999,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,539 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in AT&T by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 75,484,518 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,328,528,000 after purchasing an additional 4,014,873 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at $1,118,288,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,589,421 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $848,888,000 after acquiring an additional 798,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 47,377,267 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $794,978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,137,792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

AT&T Company Profile

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.