AT&T Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:T)

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 520,409 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 687% compared to the average volume of 66,118 call options.

AT&T Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE T opened at $21.94 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $157.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.60. AT&T has a 1 year low of $14.23 and a 1 year high of $22.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.58 and a 200 day moving average of $18.75.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.57. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The firm had revenue of $29.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that AT&T will post 2.22 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its holdings in AT&T by 356.5% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AT&T during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AT&T in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

T has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Scotiabank lowered shares of AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of AT&T in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.38.

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.