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

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 94,826 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 58% compared to the typical volume of 60,169 call options.

AT&T Price Performance

T opened at $20.58 on Thursday. AT&T has a 12-month low of $14.12 and a 12-month high of $20.87. The company has a market cap of $147.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.96.

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

AT&T Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. AT&T’s payout ratio is 59.68%.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in T. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of AT&T in the second quarter worth $232,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AT&T in the second quarter worth about $763,000. New Century Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AT&T by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 64,631 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 4,179 shares during the period. Ariadne Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 2nd quarter valued at about $465,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of AT&T in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on AT&T in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Daiwa America raised AT&T to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on AT&T from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AT&T presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.06.

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.