AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.38.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Daiwa America raised AT&T to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Moffett Nathanson raised their target price on AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of AT&T to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of AT&T from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th.

AT&T Trading Down 0.6 %

T stock opened at $21.91 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. AT&T has a twelve month low of $14.12 and a twelve month high of $22.34. The company has a market cap of $157.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.47 and a 200-day moving average of $18.66.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. The company had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.05 billion. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The company’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AT&T will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of AT&T by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91,578 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its stake in AT&T by 356.5% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC grew its holdings in AT&T by 107.5% during the second quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.