AT&T (NYSE:T) Shares Down 2.7% – Should You Sell?

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shares fell 2.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $21.34 and last traded at $21.34. 6,748,589 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 35,640,504 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

T has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted 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. Daiwa America upgraded AT&T to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on AT&T from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of AT&T in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.38.

AT&T Trading Down 1.7 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.70.

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

AT&T Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is 59.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,116 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AT&T in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AT&T during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other 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.