AT&T (NYSE:T) Trading 1.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shares rose 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $27.17 and last traded at $27.04. Approximately 7,219,699 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 40,063,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on T shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lifted their target price on AT&T from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on AT&T in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.74.

AT&T Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50 day moving average is $24.30 and its 200 day moving average is $22.82.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.06. AT&T had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 8.95%. On average, equities research analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. AT&T’s payout ratio is 74.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AT&T

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in T. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AT&T during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

About AT&T

AT&T, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of telecommunications and technology services. It operates through the Communications and Latin America segments. The Communications segment offers wireless, wireline telecom, and broadband services to businesses and consumers located in the US and businesses globally.