AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Down 0.8%

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) traded down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $18.89 and last traded at $19.04. 6,928,764 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 36,663,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on T. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on AT&T from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on AT&T from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. BNP Paribas raised AT&T from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AT&T in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.33.

AT&T Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.45. The stock has a market cap of $136.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.70.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. The company had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AT&T Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given 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 5.83%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is 59.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,554,000. Provence Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in shares of AT&T by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 16,217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 5,807 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of AT&T by 250.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 67,303 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 48,091 shares during the last quarter. Retireful LLC purchased a new position in AT&T in the 4th quarter worth about $1,163,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 46,265 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 5,161 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.