AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 4% Higher

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shot up 4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $19.08 and last traded at $18.93. 16,762,490 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 36,412,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered AT&T from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on AT&T from $22.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays raised AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AT&T currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.85.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $137.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.21 and a 200-day moving average of $17.43.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $30.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that AT&T Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in T. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 2.2% during the second quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC now owns 24,138 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in AT&T by 1.3% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 42,154 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in AT&T by 4.6% during the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 13,368 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc grew its position in AT&T by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 35,098 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the period. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC grew its position in AT&T by 3.1% during the first quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 19,889 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.