AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.28, but opened at $26.47. AT&T shares last traded at $26.48, with a volume of 7,733,120 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

T has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of AT&T from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Argus raised shares of AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AT&T from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AT&T from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.74.

AT&T Stock Down 4.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.90. The company has a market capitalization of $187.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its position in AT&T by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 24,161 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Buska Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in AT&T by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Buska Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in AT&T by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 26,161 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AT&T by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas raised its stake in shares of AT&T by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 41,716 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. 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.