AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Up 0.7% – Still a Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shot up 0.7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $26.38 and last traded at $26.37. 6,941,142 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 40,245,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

T has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AT&T from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer began coverage on AT&T in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AT&T from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus upgraded AT&T from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, New Street Research raised AT&T from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.74.

AT&T Trading Up 1.6 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.30 and a 200-day moving average of $22.80. 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 stock has a market cap of $194.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that AT&T Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AT&T

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of T. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AT&T during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 57.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AT&T Company Profile

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.