AT&T (NYSE:T) Stock Price Up 1.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) rose 1.2% on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $25.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. AT&T traded as high as $21.60 and last traded at $21.52. Approximately 9,243,739 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 35,555,449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.26.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on T. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of AT&T from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on shares of AT&T from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AT&T currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.69.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of AT&T by 227.6% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91,578 shares in the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its position in AT&T by 356.5% during the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC grew its position in AT&T by 107.5% during the second quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in AT&T during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its position in AT&T by 176.6% during the second quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 1,867 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.81 and its 200 day moving average is $18.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

AT&T (NYSE:T) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.57 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that AT&T Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders 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 5.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.68%.

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.