AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Still a Buy?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s stock price traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $21.98 and last traded at $21.86. 3,079,775 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 35,741,176 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

T has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup raised 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. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Daiwa America raised AT&T to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.38.

AT&T Trading Up 0.3 %

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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.64 and a 200 day moving average of $18.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.60.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. AT&T’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.06%. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of T. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its stake in AT&T by 107.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in AT&T during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AT&T in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 57.10% of the company’s stock.

About AT&T

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.