AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.40.

T has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AT&T from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AT&T to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of AT&T to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

Institutional Trading of AT&T

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of AT&T by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 131,813 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 91,578 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC grew its position in AT&T by 107.5% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in AT&T during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its position in AT&T by 176.6% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 57.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AT&T Price Performance

Shares of AT&T stock opened at $22.19 on Friday. AT&T has a 52-week low of $14.74 and a 52-week high of $22.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.09 and a 200-day moving average of $19.06. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. AT&T had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The company had revenue of $30.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AT&T will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

AT&T Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.2775 dividend. This represents a $1.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. AT&T’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.79%.

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.